Only  by  the  Abolition  of 

Neutrality  Can  Wars  be  Quickly 

and  Forever  Prevented 


757 

An  Original  Conception 

for  the  Practical  Advent  of 

Universal  Perennial  Peace 

and  Brotherhood 

By 
LUIGI  CARNOVALE 

Author  of 
"Why  Italy  Entered  Into  the  Great  War' 


5th  Edition 


8 

0 
2 

3  |  CHICAGO 


Only  by  the  Abolition  of 

Neutrality  Can  Wars  be  Quickly 

and  Forever  Prevented 


An  Original  Conception 

for  the  Practical  Advent  of 

Universal  Perennial  Peace 

and  Brotherhood 

By 
LUIGI  CARNOVALE 

Author  of 
Why  Italy  Entered  Into  the  Great  War" 


Price  25  Cents 


ITALIAN-AMERICAN 
PUBLISHING  CO. 

3O  North  Michigan  Ave.,  Room  93O 

Chicago,  Illinois 

U.  S.  A. 


1917-1922. 

First  edition:  in  English  and  Italian  languages,  under  the  title 
HUMAN  SOLIDARITY— SOLIDARIETA'  UMANA— in  the  bi- 
lingual book  Why  Italy  entered  into  the  Great  War — Perche 
I'ltalia  e  entrata  nella  Grande  Guerra,  Chicago,  July,  1917. 

Second  edition:  in  English  language,  under  the  title  ONLY  BY 
THE  ABOLITION  OF  NEUTRALITY  CAN  WARS  BE 
QUICKLY  AND  FOREVER  PREVENTED.  Chicago,  April,  1920. 

Third  edition:  In  Italian  language,  under  the  title  SOLTANTO 
L'ELIMINAZIONE  DELLA  NEUTRALITA  POTRA  SUBITO 
E  PER  SEMPRE  IMPEDIRE  LE  GUERRE.  Chicago,  May,  1920. 

Fourth  edition:  in  English  language,  under  the  title  THE  DIS- 
ARMAMENT CONFERENCE  AT  WASHINGTON  WILL  BE  A 
FAILURE— ONLY  BY  THE  ABOLITION  OF  NEUTRALITY 
CAN  WARS  BE  QUICKLY  AND  FOREVER  PREVENTED. 
Chicago,  November,  1921. 

Fifth  edition:  In  English  language,  under  the  title  ONLY  BY 
THE  ABOLITION  OF  NEUTRALITY  CAN  WARS  BE  QUICK- 
LY AND  FOREVER  PREVENTED— AN  ORIGINAL  CONCEP- 
TION FOR  THE  PRACTICAL  ADVENT  OF  UNIVERSAL 
PERENNIAL  PEACE  AND  BROTHERHOOD.  Chicago,  May,  1922. 


COPYRIGHT,  1922, 

— BY— 
LUIGI  CARNOVALE 


LUIGI  CAKNOVALE 


Hie  vobis  bellum  et  pacem  portamus; 
utrum  placet^  sumite. 

2006716 


PRESS,  (Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania): 

In  his  latest  pamphlet  Only  by  the  Abolition  of  Neutrality  can 
War  be  quickly  and  forever  prevented,  Luigi  Carnovale  throws 
additional  light  upon  a  subject  that  has  been  a  problem  of  the 
ages.  • 

UNITY  (Chicago,  Illinois) : 

Today's  student  of  international  affairs  should  turn  particularly 
to  Mr.  Carnovale's  remarkable  chapter  Human  Solidarity,  in  'which 
he  sets  forth  a  point  of  view  as  interesting  as  it  is  unique. 

LLOYD'S  (London,  England) : 

Such  a  collection  of  words,  though  they  may  be  open  to  question, 
speaks  volumes.  *  *  *  Meanwhile,  Mr.  Carnovale  gives  us 
something  to  think  about. 

GLASGOW  TIMES  (Glasgow,  Scotland): 

Mr.  Carnovale's  idea  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  political 
thought. 

HET  NIEUfTS  VAN  DEN  DAG  (Amsterdam,  Holland) : 

From  the  standpoint  of  principle,  we  consider  it  undoubtedly  to 
be  right.  *  *  *  It  gives  us  a  hitherto  unthought  of  conception. 

EVENING  POST  (Wellington,  New  Zealand,  Australia): 
The  theory  is  ingenious  and  well  argued. 

CAROLINE    B.    STEPHEN,   Principal    of    The    Temple    School, 

(Washington,  District  of  Columbia): 
It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  work  of  a  real  genius. 

ETHEL  TORREY  HIBBARD,  in  Side  Lights  (Chicago,  Illinois)  : 
Luigi  Carnovale  gives  a  striking  analysis  of  the  causes  that 
provoke  wars,  and  his  opinion  of  how  they  can  be  prevented.  *  * 
*  This  deserves  the  attention  of  the  Governments  and  Peoples, 
if  we  are  to  believe  that  the  world  really  wishes  the  advent 
of  universal  and  perennial  peace.  *  *  *  Luigi  Carnovale  is 
sowing  the  seeds.  *  *  *  He  blazes  a  trail  that  gives  us  a  radi- 
ant hope. 

S.  B.  McCORMICK,  Chancellor,  University  of  Pittsburgh,  Penn- 
sylvania : 

It  is  a  strong  appeal  for  the  development  of  a  common  sense  of 
justice  among  the  peoples  of  the  world  rather  than  treaties  or  a 
league  of  nations. 

NORMAN  B.  BARR,  Superintendent  of  Olivet  Institute  (Chicago, 

Illinois) : 

There  is  no  question  in  my  mind  but  what  there  is  much  value 
in  your  suggestion,  which  you  have  well  argued. 

PROF.  AU GUSTO  MURRI,  University  of  Bologna  (Italy) : 
I  am  entirely  and  absolutely  of  your  opinion. 

CARLO  RIZZETTI,  Senator  (Rome,  Italy) : 

This  monograph  is  very  valuable  and  is  written  with  great 
humanitarian  sentiment  and  with  a  very  high  civil  aim. 

EUGENIO  SELVAGGI,  Director  of  Museums   (Lecce,  Italy): 

You  have  touched  a  very  important  subject  which  deserves  to 
be  upheld  and  given  wide  propaganda. 


CONTENTS 

Page 
1917-1922     2 

Portrait  of  the  Author 4 

Press  and  Individual  Opinions  regarding  Only  by 
the  Abolition  of  Neutrality  can  Wars  be  quickly 
and  forever  prevented  . 7 

The  Disarmament  Conference  at  Washington  will 
be  a  failure 9 

Preliminary    Notes      .     * 14 

Human  Solidarity 17 

Complementary   Notes 44 

The  Omnipotents — An  Inspirational  Prophecy     .  48 

Extracts  from  Press  Reviews  of  the  book,  Why 
Italy  entered  into  the  Great  War,  from  which 
the  chapter  entitled  Human  Solidarity  here  re- 
produced is  taken 51 


THE  DISARMAMENT  CONFERENCE  AT 
WASHINGTON  WILL  BE  A  FAILURE1 

JUST  as  the  Paris  Conference  was  a  failure,  so  the 
Disarmament  Conference  at  Washington  will  be 
a  failure. 

I  mean  to  say  that  the  Disarmament  Conference — 
whether  its  final  decision  be  in  favor  of  a  limitation  of 
armaments  or  in  favor  of  complete  disarmament  of  all 
nations — will  not  attain  the  end  (immediate  cessation 
of  wars,  with  universal  and  perennial  peace)  for  which 
it  was  staged  in  Washington  with  such  a  pomp  of  re- 
ligious and  diplomatic  solemnity.  It  will  not  attain 
its  end,  because  the  leit-motif  of  its  academic  discussions 
was  based  exclusively  on  the  false  presumption  that 
armaments  are  the  cause — and  the  only  cause — of  wars, 
and  that  the  limitation  of  armaments  could  result  only 
in  the  elimination  of  the  cause  of  wars  and  the  cessation 
of  wars  with  the  consequent  advent  of  universal  and 
perennial  peace. 

The  Disarmament  Conference  at  Washington,  based 
on  such  a  gross  error  and  allowing  itself  to  be  ruled 
by  it,  forgot  or  feigned  to  forget,  two  indestructible 
historical  elements  which  cannot  and  should  not  be  for- 
gotten. 

First.  Armaments  never  were  the  cause — and  much 
less  the  only  cause — of  wars.  Nations  armed  to  the 
teeth  almost  always  have  lived  in  peace  with  one 
another  and  even  on  good  terms  with  one  another. 
Let  us  note,  for  instance,  the  period  preceding  the 
Great  War.  During  that  time,  armaments  reached 
the  most  monstrous  proportions,  whether  we  consider 


1This  chapter  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  the  edition  of  No- 
vember, 1921. 

9 


expenditures,  quantity  of  material,  or  power  for  de- 
structiveness,  that  evil  human  genius  ever  conceived 
and  produced;  but  they  were  not  the  cause  of  the 
Great  War;  the  nations  most  powerfully  armed  lived 
in  peace  with  each  other  for  years  and  were  even 
on  friendly  terms  with  one  another.  Armaments — 
particularly  such  as  those  of  the  period  preceding  the 
Great  War — were  nothing,  to  speak  plainly,  but  purely 
industrio-commercial  expedients  employed  by  govern- 
ments in  the  spirit  of  favoritism  for  the  further  fatten- 
ing of  cruel  and  insatiably  greedy  capitalists  and  spec- 
ulators. 

Second.  The  limitation  of  armaments  never  elimi- 
nated and  never  will  eliminate  the  cause  of  wars ;  it 
never  determined  and  never  will  determine  the  cessation 
of  wars  and  the  consequent  advent  of  universal  and 
perennial  peace.  Much  less  could  the  limitation  of 
armaments  proposed  and  supported  by  the  Washington 
Conference  do  so,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  decision 
to  reduce  armaments,  with  the  object  of  immediately 
stopping  wars  and  of  bringing  in  a  general  and  lasting 
peace,  would  be  nothing  at  the  end  of  the  story  but  the 
official  recognition  and  moral  consecration  (moral  in  the 
governmental  sense,  it  is  understood)  of  the  present 
national-international  status-quo.  But  the  present  na- 
tional-international status-quo  did  not  arise  from  prin- 
ciples of  justice.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  full  of  injustice 
due  to  the  profound  social  differentiations  which,  in  the 
complex  struggle  of  life,  favor  unduly — with  material 
commodities  and  joys  of  all  kinds — the  small  minorities 
of  the  masterful,  the  selfish,  the  brutally  unscrupulous ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  work  too  great  injury — 
through  material  privations  and  sorrows  of  all  sorts — 
on  the  great  majorities  of  the  humble,  the  good,  the 
well-disposed.  Such  injustice  is — today  more  than  ever 
— one  of  the  main  causes,  if  not  indeed  the  main  cause, 
of  wars.  The  Washington  Conference,  therefore,  de- 
10 


ciding  in  favor  of  the  limitation  of  armaments,  would 
do  nothing  but  decide,  be  it  even  involuntarily  (I 
want  to  be  optimistic),  in  favor  of  the  perpetuation 
of  one  of  the  main  causes — or  of  the  main  cause — of 
wars:  an  end  diametrically  opposed  to  the  one  for 
which  the  Conference  was  arranged  and  to  the  hopes 
which  it  has  awakened  throughout  the  world. 

Armaments  never  were  and  never  will  be  the  cause  of 
wars. 

The  reduction  of  armaments  never  eliminated  and 
never  will  eliminate  the  cause  of  wars;  it  never  de- 
termined and  never  will  determine  the  cessation  of  wars 
and  the  consequent  advent  of  universal  and  perennial 
peace. 

It  has  never  been  possible  to  eliminate  the  cause 
of  wars. 

Furthermore,  it  will  never  be  possible  to  eliminate 
the  cause  of  wars,  because  such  elimination  would  neces- 
sitate at  the  same  time  the  pre-existence,  the  existence 
and  the  inalterable  continuity  of  a  conditio  sine  qua 
non:  the  spiritual  perfection  of  humankind.  Such  a 
state  will  never  be  reached  by  the  race  in  general,  but 
only  by  a  part  of  it,  and  a  very  small  part,  alas! 
it  being  impossible  to  depend  upon  the  biblical  "good 
will"  of  the  selfish  and  prepotent  people  who,  by  their 
bestial  and  incorrigible  instinct,  have  always  been  and 
always  will  be  arbiters  in  committing  evil  transcending 
to  murderous  violence.  The  experience  of  humanity 
through  the  ages  teaches  that  the  past  can  only  repeat 
itself  with  exactness  in  the  future. 

But  if  the  cause  of  wars  can  never  be  eliminated, 
owing  to  the  fatal  existence  of  evil  in  eternal  struggle 
with  good,  wars  can  be  prevented. 

This  affirmation  may  seem  like  a  paradox,  knowing 

that  wars  are  the  effect  of  certain  determined  causes, 

and  that  the  effects — according  to   the  old  scholastic 

principle  generally  accepted  as  a  canon  containing  a 

11 


fundamental  and  immutable  philosophical  substratum 
— cannot  be  prevented  unless  the  causes  which  produce 
them  are  first  eliminated.  But  it  is  not  a  paradox !  It 
is  an  absolute  truth,  and — considering  the  lofty  end  at 
which  it  aims — it  is  one  of  the  most  solemn  of  absolute 
truths. 

Wars  can  be  prevented.  Wars  can  be  prevented,  and 
without  the  necessity  of  first  eliminating  the  causes  of 
which  wars  are  the  effect.  I  am  demonstrating  this 
very  clearly,  in  fact  mathematically,  in  the  present 
Monograph  by  offering  and  developing  an  entirely  new 
conception:  the  abolition  of  neutrality. 

According  to  my  conception — reduced  in  this  Mono- 
graph to  a  concrete  plan  which  may  very  easily  and 
very  quickly  be  put  into  action — nations  should  not 
bind  themselves  in  any  way,  each  of  them  remaining 
free  to  arm  or  disarm  at  pleasure.  Because  armaments 
— I  repeat — are  not  the  cause  of  wars.  The  cause  of 
wars  is  an  element  entirely  strange  to  armaments  and 
absolutely  independent  from  armaments,  and — what 
is  worse — an  indestructible  element. 

And  if  armaments  are  not  the  cause  of  wars,  but 
purely  governmental  industrio-commercial  expedients, 
as  I  said  above,  as  well  as  infernal  means  which  bellig- 
erent nations  employ  to  obtain  more  exterminating 
results,  disarmament  cannot  prevent  wars ;  because,  even 
without  armaments,  in  the  sense  in  which  armaments 
are  produced  by  the  so-called  modern  civilization,  peo- 
ples would  fight  with  one  another  just  as  they  always 
fought  in  the  past,  whether  human  armaments  consisted 
only  of  the  club,  or  the  ordinary  stone,  or  the  simple 
individual  physical  strength. 

Disarmament — partial  or  total,  of  a  group  of  nations 
or  of  all  nations — cannot  prevent  wars. 

None  of  the  old  means  excogitated  by  man,  from  the 
origin  of  time  to  the  present  day,  can  succeed  in  pre- 
venting wars. 

12 


Only  my  new  conception,  the  abolition  of  neutrality — 
which  is  based  upon  the  altruistic  principle  of  a  compul- 
sory intervention  substantiated  by  a  propulsive  and  de- 
cisive action  on  the  part  of  the  whole  world  against  any 
aggressor — can  quickly  and  forever  prevent  wars  and 
automatically  conduct  all  nations  to  a  total  and  definite 
disarmament. 

Only  the  application  of  such  an  original  conception 
can  immediately  bring  about  the  practical  advent  of 
universal  and  perennial  peace  and,  with  peace,  the  real 
brotherhood  of  the  entire  human  race. 


PRELIMINARY  NOTES1 

DURING  the  latter  part  of  July,  1917,  the  Ital- 
ian-American Publishing  Company  of  Chicago 
(U.  S.  A.)  brought  out  my  bi-lingual  book 
(English  and  Italian),  WHY  ITALY  ENTERED  INTO  THE 
GREAT  WAR." 

In  the  Fourth  Part  of  this  book,  and  especially  in  the 
chapter  entitled  Human  Solidarity,  I  said,  among  other 
things,  that  the  only  means  by  which  war  can  be  pre- 
vented is  by  abolishing  the  neutrality  of  nations,  that 
neutrality  which  corresponds  exactly  to  selfishness,  and 
even  worse,  in  individuals. 

My  book  was  received  with  the  greatest  interest  in  the 
United  States  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  But  my 
idea  regarding  neutrality  as  expressed  in  the  chapter 
entitled  Human  Solidarity — notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  it  touched  a  problem  of  the  highest  social  import- 
ance, which  I  enlarged  upon  and  treated  with  true  in- 
telletto  d'amore — was  not  taken  with  the  consideration 
which  I  believed  it  merited. 

And  why? 

The  reason  for  this  is  most  easily  explained. 

First — The  main  object  of  my  book  was  to  make 
Americans  and  others  see,  at  the  psychological  moment, 
the  geographical,  historical,  ethnographical,  strategic, 
political,  juridical,  moral,  and  humanitarian  reasons 
which  determined  the  entrance  of  Italy  into  the  great 
war:  the  main  object  as  I  summarized  it  in  my  dedica- 
tion which  I  here  reproduce  in  its  entirety : 

Appeared  for  the  first  time  in  the  edition  of  April,  1920. 

2"Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War,"  by  Luigi  Carnovale, 
673  pages  large  8vo,  with  Tavola  Clesiana  and  map  of  Italia 
Irredenta.  Italian-American  Publishing  Company,  Chicago,  1917. 

14 


This  labor  of  love,  written  in  exile,  I  dedicate  to  the 
memory  of  the  fallen  and  to  the  sorrows  of  the  surviv- 
ors, with  thoughts  reaching  out  toward  the  highest  hu- 
man ideals,  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  the  Italian  people 
in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  in  ignorance  of  the  truth. 

My  expressed  hostility  to  the  neutrality  of  nations 
was  simply  one  of  the  accessory  arguments  used  to  bet- 
ter defend,  and  to  give  greater  force  to  my  main  point, 
but  it  was  one  of  the  most  important  points  which  I  used 
in  the  polemical  part  of  the  book  itself. 

Second — Considering  that  the  only  means  of  prevent- 
ing war  is  by  the  abolition  of  neutrality — according  to 
my  belief — it  goes  without  saying  that  any  action  to 
abolish  neutrality  must  necessarily  precede  the  break- 
ing out  of  war.  When  I  wrote  my  book  in  Chicago, 
where  I  have  lived  for  several  years,  the  great  war  had 
already  been  in  progress  for  some  time.3  And  when  it 
was  published,  in  1917,  the  war  had  already  raged  for 
three  years. 

As  soon  as  the  war  was  over,  in  the  first  part  of  NOT 
vember,  1918,  the  attention  of  the  world  was  quickly 
drawn  to,  and  absorbed  by,  the  plan  of  the  League  of 
Nations  which  was  officially  presented,  discussed  and 
approved  by  the  allied  governments  at  the  Paris  Con- 
ference. 

I  republish  herewith  my  chapter  entitled  Human 
Solidarity,  confident  that  this  time  it  will  meet  with 
better  fortune ;  naturally  not  for  my  own  sake,  but  for 
the  high  humanitarian  idea — more  vibrant  today  than 
ever  before — of  which  the  chapter  itself  treats  and  which 
it  defends. 

The  causes  which  provoked  the  great  war  exist  today ; 
and  they  can  never  be  eliminated,  because  they  spring 


3The  great  war  broke  out,  July  28,  1914.  Italy  entered  in  on 
May  23,  1915.  My  book  was  written  in  the  latter  part  of  1915  and 
during  1916. 

15 


front  the  irrepressible  passions  which  unfortunately  are 
innate  to  restless  human  nature. 

War,  however,  can  be  prevented.  But  certainly  not 
by  the  ineffective  means  devised  and  used  during  the 
past  centuries  and  even  continued  to  the  present  time; 
and  just  as  certainly  not  by  means  of  the  League  of 
Nations  which,  if  it  continues,  will  do  nothing  to  allay 
the  rivalries  and  hatreds  between  peoples,  but  instead 
will  foment  them  more  and  more. 

Wars  can  be  prevented,  notwithstanding  the  natural 
and  perpetual  causes  which  tend  to  produce  them,  only 
if  conscientious  men,  who  fortunately  abound  every- 
where, will  receive  with  sympathetic  interest  my  idea 
against  neutrality ;  only  if  individuals  and  nations,  who 
by  the  willingness,  energy  and  perseverance  of  such 
conscientious  men,  will  consider  the  abolition  of  neu- 
trality the  most  sacred  and  urgent  duty  to  be  accomp- 
lished, the  most  sublime  ideal  to  be  reached  by  civiliza- 
tion. 


16 


"HUMAN  SOLIDARITY."1 

THE  Italian  people,  on  account  of  one  of  the 
natural  laws  which  psychologically  distinguish 
the  human  races  from  one  another,  have  im- 
planted in  them  two  sentiments :  a  sentiment  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  weak,  and  a  sentiment  of  indignation 
against  the  strong  who  abuse  and  tyrannize  over  the 
weak.  These  sentiments  form,  in  the  peculiar  harmony 
of  their  spiritual  essence  and  of  their  practical  work- 
ings out,  the  granite-like  foundation  of  their  social  life. 
"Glance  for  a  moment  at  the  history  of  Italy  from 
the  time  of  the  famous  republic  of  Magna  Grecia,  which 
has  grown  and  blossomed  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
peninsula  up  to  the  present  time,  and  one  cannot  fail 
to  see  that  the  Italian  people  were  always  moved  by  the 
condition  of  the  weaker.  They  embraced  their  cause  in 
fact,  and  not  alone  in  words,  for  magnanimous  and  not 
for  selfish  and  material  reasons,  especially  when  their 
cause  represented  the  trampling  upon  or  simply  the 
menacing  of  their  national  liberties  by  presuming  ty- 
rants. 

"And  not  only  in  battles  of  a  collective  public  nature, 
but  also  in  the  altercations  of  a  private  and  personal 
character,  the  Italian  people  have  put  in  evidence — or 
better,  into  action — their  innate  sentiments  of  sympathy 
for  the  weaker  and  of  indignation  against  the  stronger 
(strong  naturally,  in  the  brutally  physical  sense  of  the 
word,  be  it  understood).  In  America,  for  example 
(particularly  in  the  city  where  for  many  years  I  have 
lived),  I  have  frequently  witnessed  disputes  between  two 
persons,  usually  for  some  trivial  reason,  which  quickly 

1From  the  book  "Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War"  by 
Luigi  Carnovale. 

17 


ended  by  their  coming  to  blows.  No  one  among  the 
bystanders  ever  moves  to  try  to  pacify  the  two  disput- 
ants or  even  to  prevent  the  weaker  from  receiving  the 
worst  of  it.  I  have  always  seen  the  stronger  throw  the 
weaker  to  the  ground  undisturbed  by  anyone;  stamp 
on  his  breast,  his  jaws,  his  nose,  his  eyes,  transforming 
his  countenance  into  a  horrible  bloody  mass,  leaving  him 
half  dead.  The  bystanders,  even  the  acquaintances, 
friends,  or  relatives  of  the  weaker,  look  on  with  indiffer- 
ence (as  if  it  were  a  moving  picture)  or  with  vile 
voluptuousness  at  the  doglike  fight,  seeming  to  feel  an 
admiration  for  the  stronger. 

"In  Italy,  particularly  in  my  native  Calabria,  which 
with  good  reason  is  called  strong  and  generous,  nothing 
of  this  kind  could  occur.  There  the  bystanders,  even 
though  they  might  be  strangers,  from  the  first  word  of 
altercation  interpose  themselves  between  the  disputants. 
And  if  they  are  unable  to  calm  them  with  reason  and 
re-establish  peace  between  them  and  thus  prevent  the 
bestial  fight,  they  immediately  sympathize  with  the 
weaker ;  they  openly  and  resolutely  take  his  part ;  they 
will  not  permit  that  a  hair  of  his  head  shall  be  touched ; 
they  prefer  even  at  the  risk  of  death  to  themselves  to 
receive  the  blows  from  the  stronger,  on  whose  head  will 
descend,  sooner  or  later,  a  general  execration. 

"Now  this  people,  so  sensitive,  so  just,  so  humane, 
having  at  their  command  a  sufficiently  formidable  army 
and  navy,  could  not  remain  inert  before  the  violence 
committed  by  the  strong  and  tyrannical  Austria  against 
little  Serbia.  They  could  not  remain  inert  before  the 
incomparable  crime  committed  by  the  strong  and  tyran- 
nical Germany  against  little  Belgium.  They  could  not 
remain  inert  before  a  scowling  and  brutal  Teutonic 
militarism  which  menaced  with  growing  and  strength- 
ening gravity  that  republican  France  which  had  poured 
out  rivers  of  her  blood  for  the  unity  and  independence 
of  her  Latin  sister  and  for  the  triumph  of  democratic 
18 


principles  in  all  of  Europe.  They  could  not  remain 
inert  before  a  scowling  and  brutal  Teutonic  militarism 
which  menaced  with  growing  and  strengthening  gravity 
that  England  which  even  in  a  time  of  general  reaction 
gave  hospitality  with  generous  and  affectionate  liber- 
ality to  the  great  exiles,  to  all  the  great  Italian  polit- 
ical refugees  from  Giordano  Bruno  to  Ugo  Foscolo, 
from  Mazzini  to  Malatesta;  to  that  England  which, 
with  its  battleship  Intrepid  and  Argus,  protected  and 
facilitated  in  the  spring  of  1860  the  memorable  landing 
of  The  Thousand  at  Marsala  (a  disembarkation  which 
decided  the  national  unity  of  Italy) ;  that  England 
which  received  Garibaldi  like  a  god  when  the  Hero  in 
April,  1864*,  went  as  a  representative  of  the  people  of 
the  new  Italy  to  visit  London.  They  could  not  remain 
inert  before  the  scowling  and  brutal  Teutonic  militarism 
which  menaced  with  growing  and  strengthening  gravity 
that  Russia  whose  great  men  such  as  Turghenieff, 
Tchernichewsky,  Tolstoy,  Gogol,  and  Gorky  always 
admired  and  glorified  Italy;  that  Russia  which  was  the 
first  to  send  her  sailors  to  Calabria  and  Sicily  to  succor 
the  people  struck  by  the  terrible  earthquake  of  1908. 

"If  the  Italian  people  had  remained  inert,  they  would 
have  negated  their  incomparable  moral  personality 
which  is  composed  of  altruism  and  gratitude;  they 
would  have  obscured  their  most  radiant  traditions  of 
thought  and  action ;  they  would  have  done  that  which  is 
worse :  at  the  moment  when  death  was  preparing  to  shape 
the  new  life  of  the  world  on  the  battlefields  of  old 
Europe,  they  would  have  betrayed  the  cause  of  human- 
ity, which  must  stand  above  every  personal  and  national 
interest,  as  the  physical  life  of  the  universe  stands  peren- 
nially above  the  single  parts  of  which  it  is  composed. 

"It  is  useless  to  deny  it.     The  word,  opposed  to  the 

fact,  has  never  been  of  value.     And  it  never  will  be,  so 

long  as  in  the  depths  of  certain  human  souls  there  dwell, 

as  the  morchia  at  the  bottom  of  jars  of  olive  oil,  as 

19 


feccia  in  the  bottom  of  wine  casks,  as  lime  in  the  bottom 
of  wells,  those  turbid  and  wicked  instincts  which  are  in 
open  antithesis  to  the  sentiments  of  purity,  compassion 
and  love  upon  which  every  civilization  should  lean  and 
from  which  it  should  evolve. 

"The  plea  has  always  been  made,  and  in  every  tone, 
to  the  potentates  of  Europe,  not  to  strengthen  mili- 
tarism ;  but  they  have  strengthened  it — and  alas,  how 
well  ! 

"The  potentates  of  Europe  have  been  counseled  in 
every  manner  not  to  provoke  war;  but  they  have  pro- 
voked it,  and  how  well  ! 

"Must  one  ignore  the  fact  in  this,  the  beginning  of 
the  twentieth  century,  that  the  imperial  soldiery,  atavis- 
tlcally  imitating  the  hordes  of  Alaric  and  Attila,  invade 
the  territories  of  small  and  independent  nations,  mas- 
sacre men,  outrage  women,  mutilate  children,  seize  the 
fruits  of  so  much  labor,  burn  homes,  raze  entire  cities 
to  the  ground;  in  such  a  manner  for  example,  as  the 
Turks  have  been  allowed  to  treat  the  Armenians  for 
years  and  years? 

"If  these  things  must  be  forgotten,  then  farewell  to 
human  solidarity. 

"After  so  many  promises,  after  so  much  enthusiasm, 
it  could  not  be  other  (except  for  the  weak  who  have  the 
simplicity  to  believe  and  expect  i*)  than  an  archaic, 
empty  and  scoffing  phrase,  resurrecting  once  again  the 
ignoble  farce  of  pulpiteers  (both  priests  and  laity)  who 
know  only  how  to  preach  well  and  practice  badly.  The 
pulpiteers  who,  when  put  to  the  test,  know  only  how 
to  put  in  practice  their  selfish  doctrine  which  is  encased 
in  the  parabolic  formula,  'Lontana  da  me,  e  dove  va 
»a.n 

"The  great  crowned  heads  would  not  have  wished 
anything  better  ! 


"l'It  may  go  where  it  will  if  it  does  not  touch  me.' 
20 


"Fortunately  the  Italian  people,  with  their  awakened 
intelligence,  understood  that  words  could  not  supplant 
the  facts.  And  they  threw  themselves  into  the  war 
(they,  the  Italian  people,  with  their  childlike  hearts)  to 
meet  facts  with  facts,  action  with  action,  physical  force 
with  physical  force  (  a  species  of  simiUa  similibus  cur- 
antur),  to  teach  the  mob  of  querulous  doctrinaires  that 
the  trampled  rights  of  the  weak  must  be  defended,  not 
with  words,  but  at  the  sacrifice  of  life  itself ;  that  the  in- 
nocent victims  of  barbarism  (militaristic  and  non-mili- 
taristic) must  be  avenged,  not  with  words,  but  at  the 
sacrifice  of  life  itself;  that  the  true  brotherhood  of  na- 
tions, the  ideal  to  which  the  human  soul  incessantly  as- 
pires, because  of  an  immutable  natural  law,  must  be 
affirmed,  be  exalted,  be  perpetuated,  not  with  words  but 
at  the  sacrifice  of  life  itself. 

"The  Italian  people  know  well  that  after  the  great 
war  they  will  have  no  other  reward  than  that  of  star- 
vation, scorn  and  oblivion  worse  than  before.  But  of 
what  importance  is  this?  With  spirits  eminently  poetic 
and  philosophic  at  the  same  time,  inured  to  every  priva- 
tion, to  every  ingratitude,  to  every  sorrow,  they  will  be 
convinced  of  having  opened  the  way,  with  their  purest 
blood — given  the  present  order  of  things,  the  only  way 
— that  could  lead  to  the  longed-for  universal  peace. 
And  such  knowledge  will  be  sufficient  to  render  them  con- 
tent, happy,  and  blessed. 

"I  have  said,  'given  the  present  order  of  things.'  I 
have  said,  'the  only  way.'  And  I  will  explain. 

"The  life  of  a  nation,  nowadays,  notwithstanding  its 
complexities,  depends  in  great  part  on  essentially  in- 
dustrial bases  constructed  by  the  people,  not  for  their 
own  advantage,  but  for  the  advantage  of  a  big-bellied 
and  cruel  minority  called  plutocracy,  which  has  nothing 
else  in  common  with  the  people  except  their  simple 
Darwinian  origin. 

"Such  national  industrialism,  in  order  to  maintain 
21 


itself  and  prosper — always  to  the  benefit  of  the  big- 
bellied  and  cruel  minority  called  plutocracy — must 
necessarily  push  itself  into  commercial  competition 
against  the  industrialism  of  another  nation,  or  other 
nations,  and  vice  versa.  But  commerical  competition, 
in  order  to  give  financial  results  proportionate  to  the 
insatiable  greed  of  the  nationalist  plutocracy,  must  be 
incessantly  and  strenuously  favored  and  defended  by 
the  State. 

"Does  a  State  government  of  the  present  day  lend 
itself  to  a  partisanship  so  bold  and  iniquitous? 

"Certainly  it  does ! 

"And  why  shouldn't  it,  if  the  State  government  of 
today,  be  it  covered  by  a  mask  surmounted  by  a  royal 
crown,  or  be  it  a  mask  surmounted  by  a  republican  cap, 
is  none  other  than  a  being  voluntarily  placed  at  the 
service  of  the  big-bellied  and  cruel  minority  called 
plutocracy  ? 

"Now  a  Government  thus  made,  frankly,  could  not 
without  injury  to  itself  put  in  action  the  military  forces, 
which  are  the  positive  forces  of  the  State,  except  for  the 
protection  of  its  master;  or  more  correctly  speaking, 
for  the  protection  of  its  mistress  (plutocracy  in  the 
Italian  language  is  in  the  feminine  gender).  The  war 
which  today  rages  in  Europe  is  one  provoked  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  of  jealousy  of  the  German  plu- 
tocracy for  the  English  commercial  supremacy  in  the 
world.1 

"In  causes  of  a  purely  humanitarian  character — that 
is,  where  the  intellectual,  moral  and  economic  elevation, 
justice,  liberty  and  the  happiness  of  the  people  are  in- 
volved— the  government  of  today  never  puts  into  action 
the  military  forces  of  the  State.  And  this  is  natural; 
for  if  the  military  forces  were  to  make  the  humanitarian 

"irrhe  other  causes  which  determined  the  great  war  (pan-Slav- 
ism, French  revenge,  Italian  Irredentism,  etc.)  were  all  of  second- 
ary importance." 

22 


causes  triumph,  only  one  effect  could  follow:  the  end 
of  plutocracy;  the  end;  that  is,  of  inequality,  of  all 
injustice,  of  all  social  tyrannies:  an  effect,  as  one  can 
see,  completely  opposed  to  that  for  which  the  military 
forces  of  a  nation  exist  today.  In  causes  of  a  purely 
humanitarian  character,  the  Government  of  today  em- 
ploys only  the  negative  force  of  the  State:  diplomacy, 
which  would  have  no  other  result  than  that  of  chatter- 
ing ;  stirring  up  confusion ;  tangling  the  skeins  of  yarn 
as  much  as  possible;  throwing  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the 
masses ;  anaesthetizing  the  nation ;  reducing  every  heart 
throb  of  collective  life  to  status  quo;  to  this  most 
convenient  Latin  ellipsis,  (convenient  for  the  strong, 
but  wickedly  disastrous  for  the  weak),  which  is  fossilized 
and  is  fossilizing. 

"Must  the  nations  continue  to  face  a  situation  so 
evident,  so  tangible  in  chronic  evil,  opposing  the  mur- 
derous facts  of  the  deaf  and  ferocious  plutocrats  with 
only  the  usual  innocuous  words? 

"If  so,  the  people  could  not  do  other  than  rivet  to 
themselves  the  chains  of  servitude;  they  could  not  do 
other  than  perpetuate  \var,  always  to  the  advantage  of 
the  more  astute,  who  idly  reap  all  of  the  benefits,  and 
to  the  damage  of  the  credulous  who  labor  and  who 
suffer. 

"So  long  as  nationalistic  industrialisms  with  their 
respective  commercial  competitions  exist;  so  long  as 
plutocracies  exist  which  have  in  their  hands  to  dispose 
of  at  their  pleasure  all  of  the  positive  forces  of  the 
nations  (from  financial  to  military),  duly  legalized  by 
governments  and  blessed  by  religions,  which  are  also, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  at  the  service  of  the  strong;  so 
long  as  plutocracies  provoke  war  because  of  a  thirst  for 
riches  and  dominion,  originated  by  innate  hardness  of 
heart ;  so  long  as  all  this  exists,  the  inertia  of  the  people, 
armed  only  by  old  lachrymose  and  even  scornful  rhe- 
toric, is  not  other,  to  my  mind,  than  an  incongruity, 
23 


anachronism,  folly,  suicide.  It  is  the  fragile  glass  that 
would  resist  the  powerful  blow  of  the  sledge  hammer,  the 
soap  bubble  that  would  resist  the  rock. 

"The  way  must  be  changed.  We  are  in  a  century  in 
which  one  must  reasonably  believe  in  only  a  single  truth : 
that  which  teaches — or  better,  is  demonstrated  by — 
positive  science.  One  must  therefore  live  a  little  less  in 
the  metaphysical  world  of  dreams,  and  a  little  more  in 
the  physical  world  of  reality. 

"The  people  must  have  facts.  They  must,  without 
distinctions,  create  among  themselves  a  solid  spiritual 
alliance  (prodrome  of  their  universal  political  union)  : 
and  establish  as  a  fundamental  principle  of  justice,  in- 
violate and  invariable,  that  when  a  controversy  between 
two  nations  degenerates  into  war,  each  of  the  peoples 
not  involved  in  the  controversy  so  degenerated  must 
a  priori  impose  on  their  own  government  an  armed 
intervention  in  favor  of  the  weaker  nation  which 
one  finds  on  the  side  of  reason.  On  the  side 
of  reason,  not  according  to  the  porcine  point 
of  view  of  the  big-bellied,  cruel  minority  called  plutoc- 
racy; not  according  to  verbose  partisan  laws  voted  by 
parliaments  and  sanctioned  by  kings,  emperors  or 
presidents  of  republics;  not  according  to  the  fantastic 
and  complacent  sentences  flung  by  petticoated  come- 
dians of  the  different  arbitrary  tribunals  of  the  Hague. 
But  on  the  side  of  reason  according  to  the  judgment 
that  springs  spontaneously,  free  from  preconceived 
ideas  and  passions;  from  free  intellingence,  from  the 
candid  conscience  of  the  people  themselves:  above  all, 
according  to  the  natural  guide  of  life  which  makes  the 
cause  of  the  weak  always  beautiful,  sacred,  and  worthy 
of  victory. 

"Only  in  such  a  manner  for  the  present  can  one  curb 
the  aggressive  mania  of  the  stronger.  Only  in  such  a 
manner  can  wars  be  prevented. 

"In  fact,  if  the  Government  of  Francis  Joseph,  for 
24 


example,  could  have  known  in  anticipation  that  the 
peoples  of  Europe,  even  of  the  whole  world,  would  rise 
up  and  intervene  promptly  with  all  of  the  positive  forces 
of  their  nations  in  defense  of  little  Serbia,  the  Govern- 
ment of  Francis  Joseph,  however  powerful  and  arro- 
gant, however  much  upheld  by  that  military  colossus, 
the  German  Empire,  would  never  have  dared  to  dictate 
to  the  little  Balkan  nation  who  was  defending  her  own 
independence.  It  would  not  have  had  the  insane  temerity 
to  send  to  it  in  July,  1914,  that  ultimatum  which  un- 
chained the  most  terrible  inferno  in  the  world's  history. 
"But  the  spiritual  alliance  of  the  people  (prodrome 
of  a  universal  political  union)  can  never  be  effected  if 
from  the  first  the  two  most  advanced  groups  of  doc- 
trinaires, which  have  an  extraordinary  moral  ascend- 
ancy over  the  people,  do  not  know  how  to  adapt  effec- 
tively their  pacifist  theories — freed  from  every  dogmatic 
sophism — to  the  events  which  day  by  day  unfold  them- 
selves. 

"The  first  group:  those  who  limit  human  progress 
to  the  struggle  between  classes  (the  economic  problem) 
are  in  favor  of  war  only  in  the  case  where  it  is  neces- 
sary to  defend  from  an  invading  foe  the  country  in 
which  all  the  material  interests  of  the  national  pro- 
letariat are  concentrated.  These  are  the  Conditional 
Neutrals. 

"The  second  group:  those  who  await  the  destruction 
of  every  political,  judicial,  military,  economic  and  re- 
ligious authority  by  revolution  and  are  opposed  to  all 
wars,  because  wars  are  made  only  for  the  round-bellies 
of  their  masters.  These  are  Absolute  Neutrals. 

"The  members  of  these  groups  are  doubltless  ani- 
mated by  right  motives.  They  aim  at  the  high  purpose 
at  which  every  open  and  active  mind  and  sensitive  heart 
25 


aims:  the  emancipation  of  all  oppressed  beings.  I 
therefore  wish  to  reason  calmly  with  them.1 

"And  I  say  to  the  Conditional  Neutrals: 

"The  theory  of  war  only  for  national  defense,  which 
you  sustain,  is  in  open  contradiction  to  the  doctrines 
which  you  say  that  you  profess, — doctrines  which  in 
their  idealistic  contents  are  conspicuously  and  rigorously 
international  and  do  not  admit  of  restrictions  of  any 
sort.  The  cry,  'Workmen  of  every  nation,  unite!'  in 
which  are  synthesized  those  doctrines  which  cannot  be 
interpreted  exclusively  in  the  economic  sense  as  you 
seem  to  believe,  must  be  interpreted  logically  in  a  much 
wider  sense,  at  least  if  one  would  not  wish  to  belittle  the 
merit  of  him  who  launched  it;  must  be  interpreted  in 
a  sense  embracing  every  social  problem  from  which  the 
economic  problem  cannot  be  eliminated  without  dis- 
turbing the  harmony  or  absolutely  breaking  the  corn- 
pages  of  things  which  regulate  and  perpetuate  human 
progress. 

"Because  the  social  question  is  many-sided.  And  the 
economic  problem  is  none  other  than  a  part  of  the  social 
question,  one  face  of  the  polyhedron  each  part  of 
which  is  intimately  connected  with  the  others;  and  the 
economic  problem  is  even  dependent  upon  the  others 
and  it  comes  from  one  cause:  ignorance.  This  was 
clearly  demonstrated  three  centuries  ago,  during  the 
most  horrible  torture  of  the  lay  and  ecclesiastic  in- 
quistion,  by  that  most  daring  father  of  universal  com- 
munism, my  encyclopaedic  fellow-countryman,  Tommaso 
Campanella. 

"According  to  the  belief  of  this  giant  precursor  of 
the  civil  redemption  of  humanity — a  belief  which  has 

(<1I  do  not  occupy  myself  with  the  other  groups  of  pacifists,  be- 
cause they — being  an  emanation  more  or  less  direct  from  the  plu- 
tocracy— cannot  be  logical. 

"  'Let  us  not  speak  of  them,  but  look  and  pass'." 
(Dante,  Inferno,  Canto  III.) 

26 


been  fully  confirmed  by  the  facts  of  the  social  situation, 
our  maladjustments  come  from  the  following  causes: 

"First — Ignorance,  which,  preventing  the  knowledge 
of  true  vices  and  of  true  virtues,  generates  and  nour- 
ishes evil,  'under  which  the  world  chafes  and  weeps.' 

Second — Blind  Self-love;  that  is,  Egotism,  worthy 
son  of  Ignorance. 

Third — Tyranny  (false  power).  Sophism  (false 
science),  Hypocrisy  (false  love),  the  three  extreme  evils 
(the  triple  lies)  which  have  'root  and  fomentation'  in 
blind  self-love. 

"Fourth — Famine;  that  is,  misery  (the  economic 
problem),  wars,  pestilence,  envy,  deceit,  injustice,  lux- 
ury, sloth,  disdain,  all  derived  from  the  three  extreme 
evils  to  which  they  are  hierarchically  subject. 

"Therefore,  the  economic  problem  cannot  be  detached 
from  the  others ;  cannot  be  settled  independently  of  the 
others.  If  it  could  thus  be  resolved,  its  isolated  solution 
could  not  attain  its  object  (the  moral  betterment  of  the 
world)  toward  which  the  whole  question  tends.  And  the 
proof  of  this,  my  assertion,  which  at  first  seems  a  para- 
dox, comes  to  us  by  means  of  this  same  plutocracy  in  an 
unanswerable  manner. 

"It  is  a  fact,  and  I  trust  that  on  this  point  there  will 
be  no  divergence  of  opinion,  that  plutocracy  is  composed 
of  flesh  and  bone,  is  of  exactly  the  same  species  as  the 
proletariat. 

"The  plutocrats  have  splendidly  solved  the  economic 
problem  to  their  own  advantage.  I  trust  that  on  this 
point  there  may  be  no  difference  of  opinion. 

"But  has  the  solution  of  the  problem  which  has 
brought  all  of  the  luxuries,  all  of  the  sensual  pleasures 
of  life  within  the  reach  of  the  plutocrats, — has  it 
brought  to  them  a  proportionate  betterment? 

"Absolutely  it  has  not. 

"The  solution  of  the  economic  problem  (luxuries  and 
sensual  pleasures  ad  infinitum)  has  instead  brought  to 
27 


the  plutocrats  a  fearful  moral  retrogression  visible 
even  to  the  blind.  It  has  taught  that  this  solution,  when 
unaccompanied  by  the  solution  of  the  other  social  prob- 
lems, is  not  and  never  can  be  the  panacea  which  is 
preached  by  superficial  and  short-sighted  theorists.  It 
has  demonstrated  once  more,  today  more  than  ever,  the 
positive  value  of  the  truth  which  was  proclaimed  in  the 
difficult  and  dark  ages  by  that  great  apostle  from  Stilo, 
Calabria,  who  was,  with  Vinci,  Pomponazzi,  Telesio, 
Bruno,  and  Galileo,  one  of  the  creative  geniuses  of  mod- 
ern positivism ;  of  that  positivism  which  for  the  voluble 
authority  of  the  word  substituted  the  solid  authority  of 
facts ;  of  that  positivism  culminating  in  our  day  in  the 
monumental  works  of  that  other  pure  Italian  who  is 
the  living  pride  and  glory  of  Italy :  Professor  Roberto 
Ardigo. 

"And  if  the  cry  which  synthesizes  the  doctrine  pro- 
fessed by  you,  Conditional  Neutrals,  has  a  content  con- 
spicuously and  rigorously  international,  I  do  not  under- 
stand with  what  conscience,  or  more,  with  what  heart, 
you  can  restrict  the  war  to  national  defense  only,  per- 
mitting the  stronger  nation,  which  is  found  on  the  side 
of  wrong,  to  assault  and  devour  at  its  pleasure  the 
weaker  nations  which  are  found  on  the  side  of  right. 

"Such  a  restrictive  principle  (war  only  for  national 
defense)  is  an  unheard  of  and  selfish  cruelty.  It  is  the 
most  repugnant  ironic  interpretation  of  international- 
ism, or  what  calls  itself  internationalism.  It  is  the 
absolute  negation  of  every  human  and  animal  solidarity. 
I  say  animal,  because  even  the  animals  feel  and  practice 
among  themselves  that  which  we  humans  call  moral 
solidarity  toward  the  weak.  The  example  of  the  dog 
suffices  to  illustrate  this.  He  continually  risks  his  own 
life  to  defend  the  weak  and  innocent  sheep  from  the 
strong,  arrogant  and  savage  wolf. 

"And  your  own  nation,  my  dear  Conditional  Neutrals, 
would  not  be  long  in  falling  a  victim  to  the  plutocratic 
28 


perfidy  and  cupidity  of  some  stronger  nation ;  a  victim 
of  your  own  error. 

"Because  it  is  not  enough  to  wish  to  defend.  One 
must  be  able  to  defend.  Serbia  also  wished  to  defend 
herself  against  Austria.  Belgium  wished  to  defend 
herself  against  Germany.  But  each  one,  being  too 
small,  and  in  consequence  too  feeble  compared  with  its 
aggressors,  was  constrained  to  succumb  (for  the  time 
being),  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  based  its  de- 
fense on  its  rights  of  independence  and  on  points  of 
honor  more  than  sacred. 

"And  if  the  social  question  embraces  many  other 
problems  besides  that  of  the  economic,  and  if  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  oppressed  depends  on  the  parallel  so- 
lution of  all  of  these  problems  and  not  on  the  solution 
of  only  one  of  them,  I  do  not  understand  why  you,  fol- 
lowers of  the  cry  which  synthesizes  the  social  question 
in  all  of  its  idealistic  entirety,  must  persist  only  in  the 
solution  of  the  economic  problem.  I  do  not  understand 
how  you  can  detach  yourselves  from  or  interest  your- 
selves so  little  in  the  other  problems  when  it  is  demon- 
strated that  only  the  parallel  solution  of  all,  not  the 
isolated  solution  of  one,  can  eliminate  evils  'under  which 
the  world  trembles  and  weeps' ;  the  evils  which  retard  the 
longed-for  emancipation. 

"One  knows  that  nowadays  wars  are  not  waged  to 
revenge  the  offended  honor  of  Menelaus — who  may  be 
more  or  less  crowned — as,  for  example,  was  the  myth- 
ological war  of  Greece  made  against  Troy  of  Homeric 
memory. 

"Wars  nowadays,  as  has  been  hinted  before  and  as 
you  yourselves,  Conditional  Neutrals,  recognize,  are 
more  for  ends  essentially  economic;  for  ends  such  as  the 
doctrines  which  you  are  said  to  profess  tend  toward,  even 
when  interpreted  in  their  highest  sense. 

"And  if  they  are  made  for  ends  essentially  economic, 
I  do  not  see  the  reason  for  which  you,  followers  of  inter- 
29 


nationalism  reduced  even  to  its  lowest  terms,  that  is, 
to  strictly  economic  terms,  should  abstain  from  inter- 
vention. 

"Because  such  ends,  you  object,  do  not  touch  the 
economic  interests  of  our  national  proletariat. 

"That  the  economic  interests  of  a  neutral  nation  are 
endangered — given  the  present  industrial  and  commer- 
cial organization  of  the  world — by  a  war  between  two 
or  more  nations,  and  especially  by  a  war  of  such  gigan- 
tic proportions  as  that  which  has  just  ceased  to  rage 
in  old  Europe  and  by  reflection  has  affected  the  whole 
world,  is  a  self-evident  truth  to  every  intelligence. 

"But  even  if — to  take  it  as  an  hypothesis — the  eco- 
nomic interests  of  the  neutral  national  proletariat  were 
not  endangered  by  the  war  of  others,  you  Conditional 
Neutrals  should  consider  it  equally  your  duty  to  inter- 
fere to  defend  the  economic  interests  of  the  proletariat 
of  the  weaker  nation  which  is  assaulted  by  the  pluto- 
cratically  stronger,  and  this  because  of  the  factive  ele- 
ments and  not  the  chatterings  of  the  doctrines  which 
you  say  that  you  profess. 

"The  sentimental  scruples  which  will  not  permit  you 
to  intervene  in  war  because  you  would  be  constrained 
to  kill  your  brothers,  must  be  eliminated. 

"In  case  of  national  defense  would  not  the  invaders 
be  your  brothers  whom  you  would  be  obliged  to  kill? 

"Are  not  the  scabs  also  your  brothers,  and  brothers 
of  your  own  nation  whom  you  fight  and  kill  during  the 
strikes? 

"And  these  strikes  themselves  which  you  are  contin- 
ually making  as  defensive  means  in  the  class  struggle, 
are  they  not  substantially  wars  between  brothers  who 
are  exploited,  and  those  who  are  not;  wars  of  hate 
between  unionist -and  non-unionist  brothers? 

"You  unionist  workmen  strike,  assault,  and  kill  with- 
out mercy  your  non-unionist  brothers.  And  why?  To 
defend  yourselves  against  their  economic  competition. 
30 


But  these  non-unionists  rarely  take  your  places  in  your 
work  for  malignant  reasons.  In  the  majority  of  cases 
they  are  none  other  (and  I  know  this  only  too  well)  than 
sons,  brothers,  husbands,  and  fathers  reduced  to  ex- 
treme misery.  They,  not  knowing  to  what  saint  to  pray 
in  their  extremity  or  where  to  turn  their  heads,  face  your 
insults  with  desperation  in  their  souls  and  run  to  the 
conquest  of  a  mouthful  of  bread  or  a  bit  of  coal  which 
may  save  those  dependent  upon  them  from  starvation. 

"You  do  not  wish  to  face  these  facts.  You  do  not 
wish  to  know  the  reasons,  which  are  beyond  their  con- 
trol, which  force  your  unfortunate  brothers  to  enter  into 
competition  against  you.  You  know  only  that  they 
injure  your  cause,  and  for  this  you  fight  to  destroy 
them. 

"And  the  gunman,  so-called  in  America  (I  allude  to 
the  savage  private  policemen  charged  to  'maintain 
order'  during  the  strikes)  are  they  not  also  your 
brothers?  Why  then  do  you  fight  and  destroy  them? 

"Because  they  do  not  hesitate  to.  shoot  you.  Because 
they  do  not  hesitate  to  massacre  your  women  and  chil- 
dren. 

"I  compare  the  scabs  to  the  conscript  soldiers.  I 
compare  the  gunmen  to  the  professional  soldier.  The 
unwilling  action  of  the  one  (scab  and  conscript)  is  in- 
spired as  is  the  voluntary  action  of  the  other  (gunman 
and  professional  soldier)  by  plutocracy  and  is  stirred 
up  by  plutocracy  and  eventuates  also  to  the  advantage 
of  plutocracy. 

"Now  if  you  unionist  workmen  representing  inter- 
nationalism synthesized  in  the  cry,  'Workmen  of  all 
countries,  unite!' — if  you  fight  to  destroy  scabs  and 
gunmen  during  strikes,  why  should  you  not  fight  to 
kill  soldiers  in  time  of  war?  The  scabs  and  gunmen,  I 
repeat,  are  your  brothers  as  also  are  the  soldiers.  The 
sins  which  the  soldiers  commit  have  the  same  root  of  evil 
31 


as  those  of  the  scabs  and  gunmen;  they  have  only  one 
root:  plutocracy.  This  is  the  new  and  real  Pandora's 
box. 

"And  if,  with  the  struggle  of  classes  culminating  in 
the  murder  of  scabs  and  gunmen  during  strikes,  you, 
Conditional  Neutrals,  economically  defend  your  na- 
tional proletariat  interests  against  your  national  plutoc- 
racy, you  must  at  the  same  time  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
international  doctrine  which  you  say  you  profess,  not 
only  admit  the  justice  of  armed  intervention  in  every 
way  today  in  defense,not  only  of  the  territorial  integrity 
of  your  nation,  protecting  the  material  interests  of  our 
national  proletariat,  but,  also  in  defense  of  the  territor- 
ial integrity  including  the  material  interests  of  all  of 
the  other  weaker  nations  assaulted  by  the  common 
enemy  (plutocracy)  for  economic  and  insatiable  greed. 

"If  you  will  persist  in  your  restrictive  attitude,  Con- 
ditional Neutrals,  you  will  end  by  discrediting  the  cry 
synthesizing  the  doctrine  which  you  boast  that  you  pro- 
fess, because  this  cry  was  launched  to  give  a  deadly  blow 
by  means  of  the  union  of  workmen  of  every  country, 
not  to  the  plutocracy  of  one  nation  only,  but  to  plutoc- 
racies of  every  nation. 

"If  the  plutocracies  of  every  nation,  instead  of  dy- 
ing, continue  to  fatten  on  the  blood  of  the  workmen  of 
every  country,  it  signifies  that  your  restrictive  action 
(that  of  conditional  neutrality)  is  not  the  right  inter- 
pretation of  the  cry  synthesized  in  the  doctrine  reduced 
even  to  purely  economic  terms. 

"And  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  workmen  of  five 
of  the  greatest  and  most  advanced  nations  of  the  world 
(France,  England,  Russia,  Japan  and  Italy) — those 
who  have  listened  to  the  gospel  synthesizing  the  doc- 
trine in  the  cry,  'Workmen  of  all  nations,  unite !' — had 
placed  themselves  militarily  at  the  side  of  Serbia  and 
Belgium,  this  would  have  signified  that  they  repudiated 
32 


the  restrictive  interpretation  of  conditional  neutrality 
and  resolutely  put  into  practice,  especially  the  Italian 
proletarians,  all  of  the  idealistic  contents,  conspicuously 
and  rigorously  international,  which  their  cry  repre- 
sented. 

"You,  Conditional  Neutrals,  must  recognize  the  er- 
ror into  which  you  have  fallen  (error,  considering  the 
time  in  which  we  live,  considering  the  formidable  posi- 
tive efficiency  reached  by  plutocracies).  You  must  fol- 
low the  practical  good  sense  of  the  people.  If  you  do 
not  do  this,  your  ranks  will  continually  become  thinner; 
you  will  be  swallowed  tip  in  the  furious  whirlwind  of 
facts. 

"If  you  obstinately  refuse  to  follow  the  people  in  their 
practical  good  sense,  it  means  that  you  do  not  under- 
stand their  spirit. 

"And  the  people  will  abandon  you,  and  they  will  give 
themselves  to  those  who  will  know  how  to  lead  them  by 
a  less  tortuous  road  to  their  emancipation. 

"Because  the  people  are  tired  of  waiting.  Their 
physical  and  moral  sufferings  are  growing  in  propor- 
tion to  the  commodities  and  sensual  pleasures  of  plutoc- 
racy. These  sufferings  have  increased  in  constant 
ratio  to  the  increase  of  the  sensual  pleasure  of  the 
plutocracy. 

"The  people  are  tired  of  waiting. 

"Conditional  Neutrals,  meditate  on  these  truths. 

"And  I  say  to  the  Absolute  Neutrals: 

"It  is  true,  as  you  have  held  and  as  I  myself  main- 
tain, that  nowadays  war  is  made  for  the  round-bellies  of 
the  plutocrats.  But  who  does  the  fighting?  Is  it  the 
plutocrats  who  fight?  The  plutocrats  only  provoke 
and  direct  wars.  Those  who  in  reality  bear  the  brunt 
of  the  war  are  the  people  whom  the  plutocrats  dominate. 

"Now  among  those  who  are  at  war  are  also  Absolute 
Neutrals  garbed  as  soldiers,  not  willingly  so,  but  be- 
33 


cause  of  one  of  those  partisan  laws  favorable  to  plutoc- 
racy (military  conscription)  which  has  been  spoken  of 
before. 

"And  if  they  are  the  people  who  must  fight;  and  if 
they  are  your  brothers ;  and  if  their  industrial  and 
collective  lives  are  placed  in  jeopardy,  how  can  you  re- 
main disinterested  and  inert? 

"You  could  remain  thus  disinterested  and  inert,  only 
if  the  plutocrats  lived  on  a  different  planet  from  that 
upon  which  the  people  live,  on  which  your  brothers  live, 
and  where  they  could  fight  among  themselves. 

"But  from  the  moment  that  the  plutocrats  inhabit  a 
planet  inhabited  also  by  the  people,  your  brothers,  and 
with  the  positive  means  at  their  command  to  enable 
them  at  their  pleasure  to  provoke  and  direct  wars,  it 
is  necessary  that  you  take  an  interested  and  active  part 
in  such  wars. 

"Because  the  plutocrats  lose  nothing  by  wars;  they 
always  gain.  It  is  the  people,  your  brothers,  the  humble, 
those  who  have  always  striven  and  suffered  day  and 
night  who  in  war  lose  everything.  Your  absolute  neu- 
trality— in  the  face  of  the  weak  massacred  on  the  field 
of  battle,  before  their  ravished  virgins,  their  mutilated 
children,  their  sacked  and  burned  homes — places  you  in 
the  same  category  as  the  authorities  (sanctified  after- 
ward by  the  church)  who  retire  to  the  solitude  of  the 
desert  and  there,  whistling  at  the  oppressed,  selfishly 
and  stupidly  think  of  nothing  except  the  eternal  sal- 
vation of  their  souls. 

"You  object:  'But  why  don't  the  people  enter  into 
the  sphere  of  our  ideas  which  have  no  other  reason  for 
being  than  that  of  liberating  them  by  means  of  revolu- 
tion (it  not  having  been  possible  up  to  the  present  time 
to  do  so  by  other  means)  from  plutocratic  tyranny 
which  starves  and  incites  them  to  fratricidal  butchery?' 

"Before  responding  to  such  a  question  I  assert  my 
34 


belief  that  the  individualistic  regime  of  life,  which  you 
long  for  and  defend,  is  possible.  I  believe  it  is  possible, 
not  because  of  a  more  or  less  doctrinaire  pretension, 
but  because  most  men — if  not  all,  certainly  a  large  part 
of  them — have  already  touched  the  point  of  moral  puri- 
ty sufficient  to  bring  about  the  aforesaid  regime  from 
the  theoretic  to  the  practical  stage.  I  have  no  need  to 
search  among  the  dead  generations  for  proof  of  this 
assertion.  It  suffices  for  me  to  look  only  among  the 
living,  and  not  farther  than  my  native  land,  to  find  the 
corroborative  proof  of  my  belief  and  affirmation. 
Roberto  Ardigo,  Pasquale  Villari,  Teodoro  Moneta, 
Guglielmo  Marconi.1  Who  would  presume  to  say  that 
these  men,  and  others  such  as  these  or  even  of  lesser 
intellectual  qualities  would  have  need  of  any  sort  of 
political,  judicial, military,  economic  or  religious  author- 
ity to  live  among  themselves  in  perfect  peace  and 
harmony? 

"Besides  this,  there  are  an  infinite  number  of  private 
business  associations  (without  speaking  of  tribes  falsely 
called  savage)  which  are  satisfactorily  regulated  by 
laws  not  written  in  any  code;  by  laws  which  have  no 
substantial  authority  other  than  that  which  each  person 
feels  within  himself  and  obeys  in  his  relation  to  others. 

"He  who  admits  the  law  of  evolution  must  honestly 
admit  individualism. 

"Because  the  law  of  evolution,  morally  speaking,  im- 
plies nothing  else  than  the  study  of  human  virtues; 
while  individualism  is  nothing  more  than  the  exercise 
of  human  virtues. 

"Evolution  is  nothing  more  than  the  theory  of  civil 
life;  individualism  is  nothing  more  than  the  practice  of 
human  life. 

"Individualism — so  far  as  it  represents  the  degree  of 

1Since  writing  the  above,  Pasquale  Villari  and  Teodoro  Moneta 
have  died.  I  substitute  in  their  places  the  names,  not  less  worthy, 
of  Augusto  Murri  and  Isidore  Del  Lungo. 

35 


moral  perfection  already  attained  by  man  and  according 
to  which  he  feels  himself  disposed  to  deal  uprightly  with 
his  fellow  man  and  even  capable  of  this — is  the  supreme 
ideal  of  evolution ;  or  I  might  say,  is  the  complement  of 
evolution,  did  I  not  know  that  evolution  as  a  synonym 
of  progress  is  infinite  and  therefore  cannot  have  a  com- 
plement, at  least  in  the  absolute  sense. 

"After  making  this  declaration  in  honor  of  the  truth, 
Absolute  Neutrals,  let  me  say:  the  people  do  not  enter 
within  the  radius  of  your  ideas  because  they  have  not 
yet  arrived  at  the  intellectual  height  necessary  to 
comprehend  the  sublimity  of  the  goal  to  which  you  wish 
to  attain.  And  there  are  others  who  have  reached  such 
height,  but  who  do  not  wish  to  engage  in  a  revolution, 
because  of  a  repugnance  for  a  means  so  violent  and 
sanguinary ;  and  more  than  this,  such  methods  have 
never  brought,  as  history  teaches,  substantial  results 
proportionate  to  the  efforts  and  sacrifices  made  by  revo- 
lutionists. Such  methods  have  never  destroyed  as  they 
should  have,  and  they  have  not  even  arrested  the  sturdy 
and  arrogant  vitality  of  plutocracies  which  incarnate 
all  of  the  evils  of  society. 

"But  because  the  people  have  not  yet  reached  the  nec- 
essary intellectual  height,  and  because  they  will  not 
engage  in  revolutions,  do  you  believe,  you  Absolute 
Neutrals,  that  you  have  the  right  to  leave  them  to 
themselves  during  a  war,  or  to  leave  them  in  the  power 
of  the  more  astute,  of  the  stronger,  of  the  more 
malicious? 

"To  tell  the  truth,  such  a  vindicative  plan,  however 
negative  it  may  be,  is  not  compatible,  a  priori,  with 
your  principles  of  universal  brotherhood.  It  is  un- 
worthy of  your  civil  apostolate.  Especially  if  one  con- 
siders that  you,  outside  of  war  (one  means  military 
war),  do  not  hesitate  to  break  the  rigidity  of  your 
absolute  neutrality — which  should  be  invulnerable — by 
36 


descending  in  the  field  to  fight  battles  which  are  of  a 
strictly  economic  character ;  battles  which  are  not  favor- 
able to  your  individualistic  theories.  I  am  speaking  of 
partial  strikes.  Why  should  one  discuss  general  strikes, 
national  or  international,  if,  from  the  day  that  class 
struggle  enters  into  a  practical  phase,  strikes  of  every 
category  are  only  made  by  rhetorical  and  high  sound- 
ing phrases? 

"You  Absolute  Neutrals  have  gone  far  afield,  into 
absolutely  hostile  camps,  to  defend  openly  and  energet- 
ically the  rights  of  those  who  strike  against  the  cruel 
greed  of  plutocracy,  the  competition  of  scabs,  the  vio- 
lence of  gunmen. 

"However,  those  who  strike  do  not  comprise  all  of  the 
proletariat,  but  are  only  a  small  part  of  them  (the 
privileged  part,  a  sort  of  caste),  the  part  which  is  the 
antithesis  of  your  ideas. 

"Because,  according  to  the  idealistic  contents  of  the 
doctrines  which  you  say  you  profess,  you  work  toward 
the  entire  amelioration  of  all  oppressed  peoples  without 
distinction  (there  are  hundreds  of  millions  outside  of 
the  unions)  ;  while  the  unionists  who  strike,  work  only  to 
their  own  exclusive  material  amelioration. 

"You  are  working  toward  the  destruction  of  plutoc- 
racies since  you  are  jusily  convinced  that  on  such  de- 
struction depends  the  solution  of  the  entire  social  ques- 
tion. The  unionists  instead,  as  soon  as  they  have  at- 
tained the  material  betterment  for  which  they  struck, 
are  quieted  as  was  the  famous  Cerberus  of  Dante: 

"  'Cerberus,  a  cruel  beast  and  strangely  made, 
Barks  out  of  his  three  dog-like  throats 
At  those  who  were  there  submerged. 

"  'When  Cerberus,  the  great  worm,  saw  us 
He  opened  his  mouth  and  showed  his  tusks 
37 


And  quivered  in  every  limb. 

My  guide1   ...   took  up  earth  :  and  with  full 

Fists  cast  it  into  his  ravening  gullets. 

As  the  dog  that  barking  craves  and 

Grows  quiet  when  he  bites  his  food,  for  he 

Strains  and  battles  only  to  devour  it,  so  did 

Those  squalid  visages  of  Cerberus,  the 

Demon,  who  thundered  on  the  spirits  so  they  would 

Fain  be  deaf.'2 

"And  when  the  unionists  believe  themselves  to  be  well 
paid,  they  no  longer  fight  the  plutocrats.  They  recog- 
nize the  legitimate  existence  of  the  plutocrats;  they 
make  them  more  solid  ;  they  fatten  them  more  and  more. 
They  even  come  to  a  point  where  they  admire,  mag- 
nify, and  idolize  them.  One  can  see  this  in  a  thousand 
cases.  For  the  sake  of  brevity.  I  will  cite  only  two  which 
are  truly  typical.  One  case,  proving  my  first  affirma- 
tion —  that  the  unionists  are  selfishly  quieted,  after  they 
have  obtained  the  raise  of  wages  for  which  they  have 
struck;  the  second  case  proving  my  second  affirmation 
that  the  unionists,  when  they  believe  themselves  well 
paid,  recognize  even  indirectly  the  legitimate  existence 
of  the  plutocracy,  and  fatten  the  plutocrats  more  and 
more  even  though  they  do  so  involuntarily  ;  they  admire, 
they  magnify,  and  they  even  idolize  them  hypocritically. 

"The  first  case  :  The  unionists  who  work  in  the  great 
clothing  factory  of  H.  S.  &  M.,  of  Chicago,  Illinois, 
one  day  struck  to  obtain  a  raise  of  wages,  H.  S.  &  M. 
raised  the  pay,  according  to  the  demands  of  the  strikers. 
These  returned  to  their  work  satisfied.  From  that  mo- 
ment one  saw  no  more  life  among  them,  they  did  not  move 
again,  not  even  when  their  unionist  brothers  (the  other 
tailors  of  Chicago)  were  reduced  to  the  most  miserable 


<<2The  epicures  and  gluttons  of  the  Third  Circle.     Divine  Com- 
edy,  Inferno,    Canto    VI    ('Temple    Classics'). 

38 


economic  condition  and  struck  solidly  and  fought  des- 
perately for  weeks  to  obtain  for  themselves  a  raise  of 
wages  from  the  other  local  manufacturers.1 

"The  second  case :  The  employees  of  the  automo- 
bile manufacturer,  H.  F.,  of  Detroit,  Michigan,  believe 
that  they  are  well  paid.  But  this  fact  does  not  prevent 
this  good  man  from  annually  accumulating  millions 
and  millions  of  dollars  for  his  own  benefit  from  the  work 
for  which  the  laborers  believe  (bless  them!)  that  the 
munificent  plutocrat  has  paid  them  so  well. 

"And  besides  this,  the  unionists  do  not  even  in  the 
final  count  obtain  for  themselves  the  benefits  for  which 
they  have  struck. 

"When  the  plutocrats  accede  to  their  demands  by 
augmenting  the  pay  of  the  strikers,  the  latter  believe 
that  they  have  won.  But  this  is  simply  an  illusion. 
The  truth  is  very  different.  And  it  is  the  plutocrats  who 
lose  nothing.  That  which  they  give  with  one  hand,  they 
take  with  the  other  hand;  they  even  retake  double  or 
more.  (The  plutocrats  know  arithmetic  very  well;  in- 
tellectually speaking  they  know  little  besides  arith- 
metic.) 

"An  example :  the  miners  struck  for  a  raise  of  wages. 
The  employers  acceded  to  the  demands  and  increased 
their  pay.  But  they  afterward  sold  the  coal  to  the  same 
employees  with  an  increase  of  price,  corresponding  to 
or  more  than  making  up  the  raise  of  wage  which  the 
strike  had  obliged  them  to  yield.  Without  considering 
that  such  a  raise  of  wages,  wisely  transformed  by  the 
plutocrats  into  a  raise  in  price,  falls  on  the  shoul- 
ders also  of  unionists  of  the  other  categories  of  workers 
who  have  not  struck ;  it  falls  also  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
workmen  who  cannot  or  will  not  join  the  unions;  it 

'^During  the  tailors'  strike  of  Chicago  in  1915  it  was  shown 
that  some  women  workers  did  not  receive  more  than  $1.75  per 
week.  Of  this  amount  they  were  obliged  to  use  daily  ten  cents  for 
carfare  to  go  and  return  from  work. 

39 


falls  therefore  on  the  shoulders  of  that  eternal,  useful, 
patient,  and  beaten  ass:  the  people. 

"And  who  suffers  the  other  inconveniences  which  are 
born  out  of  strikes?  Certainly  not  the  plutocrats;  in- 
stead, it  is  the  just  who  suffer  for  the  unjust.  In  the 
Chicago  tailors'  strike  of  1915,  of  which  we  have  made 
mention  for  example,  I  personally  knew  many  who  at 
the  beginning  of  the  strike  were  without  a  penny  in 
their  pockets.  These  poor  creatures,  during  the  long 
weeks  of  the  strike,  did  not  receive  one  cent  of  assist- 
ance from  the  union  of  which  they  were  a  part;  thus 
they  and  their  families  suffered  from  hunger;  while  the 
plutocrats  (the  employers  who  resisted  the  strike)  did 
not  miss  their  Lucullan  meals  any  more  than  before  the 
strike.  It  is  true  that  a  certain  sum  (a  few  thousand 
dollars)  was  collected  at  that  time,  but  such  alms  (coin- 
ing in  great  part  from  private  individuals,  certainly 
not  from  the  proletariat,  and  I  do  not  know  with  what 
conscience  and  dignity  it  was  accepted  by  the  strike 
leaders)  was  unequal  to  the  needs  of  the  strikers,  partly 
because  it  was  unequally  distributed,  not  to  say  worse. 

"Now  if  you,  Absolute  Neutrals,  take  an  active  part 
in  partial  strikes  to  aid  unionists  who  are  substantially 
none  other  than  the  privileged  minority  of  the  pro- 
letariat, as  plutocracy  is  none  other  than  the  privileged 
minority  of  the  bourgeoisie,  with  much  more  reason 
should  you  take  an  active  part  in  the  war,  which  is 
made  to  aid  the  weaker  nations  to  free  themselves  from 
the  cupidity  of  the  stronger;  in  wars  which  are  much 
nearer  to  revolutions  than  strikes,  especially  if  one  con- 
siders that  only  theoretically  do  you  combat  the  unions, 
while  you  defend  the  weaker  nations.  You  theoretically 
fight  against  unionist  laborers,  but  practically  you  aid 
them  in  their  strikes  against  their  oppressors.  In  fact, 
you  preach  one  thing  and  you  practice  another. 

"How  much  this  system  has  damaged  your  cause  you 
yourselves  can  well  imagine,  especially  if  you  consider 
40 


that  by  aiding  the  unionists  in  a  strike  you  do  not  de- 
stroy the  positive  forces  of  the  plutocracy,  but  instead, 
you  augment  and  perpetuate  them;  while  aiding  the 
weaker  nations  in  war  you  destroy  the  positive  forces  of 
plutocracies;  or  if  you  do  not  destroy  them,  you  be- 
gin to  destroy  them,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing. 

"The  groups  which,  inspired  by  the  individualistic 
doctrines,  are  hoping  to  reach  their  goal  by  means  of 
partial  strikes,  are  like  those  who  grind  water  in  a 
mortar;  the  groups  which  obstinately  remain  in  a  ver- 
bose and  virulent  inertia  during  such  a  war  as  that  of 
Europe —  a  war  which  opens  a  new  historical  epoch — 
are  groups  which  are  not  in  touch  with  life,  are  against 
life,  and  in  consequence  against  humanity  which  loves 
life,  against  humanity  which  is  life. 

"They  will  be  struck  by  the  fatal  law  of  elimination 
because  of  their  own  fault.  They  will  perish. 

"Absolute  Neutrals,  meditate  upon  these  truths! 

"The  Italian  people  believed  that  the  theory  of  con- 
ditional neutrality  (war  only  for  national  defense)  and 
the  theory  of  absolute  neutrality  (peace  at  any  price) 
if  put  into  practice  would  have  driven  humanity  back 
into  the  primitive  chaos  of  barbarism  where  nothing 
but  brute  force  reigned ;  would  have  trampled  under  foot 
the  foundation  of  every  idea  of  justice  and  civilization. 

"Because  the  tyrants,  always  thirsting  for  more 
riches  and  dominion,  commit  at  their  pleasure  any  sort 
of  crime,  secure  of  immunity.  Who  indeed  could  punish 
them  if  the  people  of  the  nations  who  are  not  implicated 
in  wars,  wars  incited  by  the  stronger  nations  which  are 
in  the  wrong,  against  the  weaker  nations  which  are  in 
the  right,  did  not  combine  solidly  and  practically  with 
the  latter? 

"Non-intervention  before  an  evil  is  committed,  and 
the  cry  of  peace  after  the  evil  is  committed,  would  be 
a  fine  comedy  for  crowned  and  uncrowned  villains. 

"In  such  way  the  mine  owner  could  very  well,  for  ex- 
41 


ample,  have  his  striking  miners,  with  wives  and  children, 
killed  by  his  gunmen ;  then  he  could  demand  peace  and 
all  would  be  happily  ended. 

"What  a  festa!    What  a  game! 

"The  splendid  example  of  practical  human  solidarity 
given  by  the  Italian  people,  imposing  on  their  own  gov- 
ernment armed  intervention  in  the  great  war  in  de- 
fense of  the  weaker  nations  which  were  assaulted  by  the 
stronger,  might  be  pondered  upon  and  imitated  by  other 
peoples. 

"This  example  shows  in  a  solemn  manner  how  it  may 
be  possible,  even  easy,  to  bring  about  the  spiritual  alli- 
ance of  the  people,  provided  that  the  Conditional  Neu- 
trals and  the  Absolute  Neutrals  recognize  their  error. 

"Certain  it  is  that  the  spiritual  alliance  of  a  people 
will  not  destroy  military  influence  in  twenty-four  hours, 
but  by  strengthening,  holding  back  skillfully  and  ener- 
getically these  forces  against  the  plutocracy  which  owns 
them,  the  spiritual  alliance  of  the  people  would  be  able 
immediately  to  put  an  end  to  war. 

"Do  not  in  heaven's  name  repeat  the  old  ritornello : 
'This  war  will  be  the  last.  This  war  will  signal  the  end 
of  militarism.  After  this  war  we  shall  have  permanent 
universal  peace,'  etc. 

"I  conclude : 

"As  long  as  there  are  national  industrial  plutocracies 
with  their  related  commercial  competitions  between  na- 
tions, there  will  be  militarism  and  there  will  be  war. 

"Because  militarism  (I  speak  of  the  militarism  of 
today)  is  none  other  than  an  organism  created  and 
maintained  by  plutocracies  to  defend  the  infinite  inter- 
ests of  plutocracies,  the  infinite  increase  of  plutocracies. 

"Plutocracies  are  the  cause.  Militarism  is  the  effect. 
Can  one  destroy  the  effect  without  first  destroying  the 
cause? 

42 


"And  can  one  prevent  war  only  by  preaching  peace 
and  continuing  to  kneel  at  the  feet  of  potentates? 

"War  has  existed  since  man  existed. 

"Peace  has  been  preached  since  war  existed. 

"But  the  preaching  of  peace  has  never  been  able  to 
prevent  war,  because  war  is  a  material  fact,  is  action, 
while  the  preaching  of  peace  is  an  immaterial  fact; 
nothing  but  words. 

"If  the  preaching  of  peace  could  have  prevented  war, 
it  would  have  done  so  from  the  first  day  or  during  the 
centuries  in  which  peace  has  opposed  itself  to  war. 

"And  we  cannot  wait  until  the  potentates  themselves 
prevent  it,  because  war  is  the  life  of  potentates.  And 
the  potentates  are  not  so  tender,  nor  even  so  foolish  as 
to  sacrifice  their  own  lives  for  the  love  of  peace. 

"War  will  be  prevented  only  when  the  preaching  of 
peace  shall  be  transformed  into  a  spiritual  alliance  of 
the  peoples ;  only  when  it  shall  transform  itself  into  the 
armed  intervention  of  a  people  (allied  spiritually  among 
themselves)  in  defense  of  the  weaker  nation  which  is  in 
the  right,  and  which  has  been  assaulted  by  the  stronger 
nations  which  are  in  the  wrong. 

"Only  then  the  pure  blood  of  the  youth  of  Italy, 
and  of  the  whole  world,  spilled  in  rivers  on  the  fields  of 
Europe  for  the  past  three  years,  can  seriously  prelude 
universal  peace  so  longed  for  by  humanity,  and  a  last- 
ing universal  peace  which  is  so  necessary  to  humanity." 


43 


COMPLEMENTARY  NOTES.1 

First  Note:  How  can  one  determine  wrong  from 
right? 

Because  of  the  unceasing  struggle  between  men  since 
their  savage  state  up  to  the  present  civilization  (so- 
called),  they  are  not  in  ignorance  of  the  elements  which 
constituted  and  which  themselves  now  constitute  the 
causes  which  have  provoked  and  now  provoke  struggles. 

It  is  just  in  consequence  of  such  knowledge — the  re- 
sult of  the  fratricidal  experience  of  thousands  of  years 
— that  men  have  learned  to  form  a  clear  and  definite 
idea  of  the  moral  essence  summarized  in  the  words  wrong 
and  right.  Thus  those  two  antithetic  words  have 
emerged  from  their  original  abstract  and  vague  signif- 
icance into  a  concrete  and  solid  form,  which  the  mature 
intelligence  of  man  can  discern  without  the  least  effort. 

Second  Note:  How  can  one  judge,  when  a  war 
breaks  out,  who  is  in  the  wrong  and  who  is  in  the  right  ? 

If  men  know,  from  the  fratricidal  experience  of  thou- 
sands of  years,  the  difference  between  wrong  and  right, 
it  is  easy  for  them  to  judge,  when  a  war  breaks  out, 
which  side  is  wrong  and  which  is  right.  It  is  easy, 
also,  because  human  judgment  instinctively  seeks  in- 
dividual self-preservation,  which  is  social  preservation. 
And  social  preservation  could  not  survive  if  men,  in 
formulating  their  judgments,  did  not  hold  scrupulously 
to  the  most  rigorous  equity:  if  they  should  forget,  or 
pretend  to  forget,  that  weaker  human  beings  have  finally 
the  right  to  live  and  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  life  with 
the  stronger,  or  even  more  than  the  stronger. 

Third  Note :  How  can  one  discredit,  how  can  one  give 

a  mortal  blow  to  the  traditional  principle  of  neutrality  ? 

Neutrality   has   always   been   considered   as    a   right 

legitimately  exercised  by  people  who  were  not  involved 

Appeared  for  the  first  time  in  the  edition  of  April,  1920. 


in  war.  And  during  wars,  neutral  countries  have  en- 
joyed the  advantages  of  immunity  and  even  the  respect 
of  the  victims,  that  is  of  the  weaker  nations  which  have 
been  provoked,  assaulted  and  trodden  upon  by  the 
stronger  ones. 

If,  however,  the  truth  is  no  longer  hidden  from  the 
people ;  if  it  is  said  to  them  that  neutrality,  instead  of 
being  a  right  legitimately  exercised,  is  an  act  of  col- 
lective and  cruel  selfishness  which  encourages  and  per- 
petuates war:  an  act  of  shameful  collective  cowardice 
which  makes  a  neutral  nation  an  accomplice  of  the 
strong  who  wish  to,  and  do  make  war;  that  it  is  the 
gravest  sort  of  a  crime  which  is  committed  against  so- 
ciety ;  that  it  is  the  gravest  sort  of  crime  committed 
toward  that  spiritual  substratum  which  should  regulate 
the  life  of  society  and  assure  its  progress  toward  the 
more  sincere  and  practical  ideals  of  human  brotherhood : 
a  crime  for  which  neutrals  should  be  proclaimed  enemies 
of  humanity  by  the  public  opinion  of  the  world,  and  as 
such  should  be  morally  condemned  to  contempt  and 
execration,  and  materially,  should  be  condemned  to 
commercial  boycotting,  to  starvation:  then  neutrality 
will  lose  its  prestige,  and,  with  its  prestige,  its  reason 
for  being. 

Fourth  Note:  How  can  a  neutral  people  force  its 
own  government  to  take  part  in  a  war,  when  It  breaks 
out,  in  defense  of  the  right  side? 

The  people  taken  en  masse  do  not  belong  to  any 
party;  they  do  not  serve  any  privileged  class.  They 
are  free.  They  are  powerful.  "Its  own  are  all  things 
between  earth  and  heaven,"  says  Tommaso  Campanella. 
Consequently  they  are  impartial :  that  is  to  say  they  are 
inclined  by  natural  impulse  to  judge  with  perfect  hon- 
esty between  wrong  and  right  in  a  war  which  may  break 
out  between  two  or  more  nations. 

It  was  just  this  inflexible  rectitude — maintained  un- 
corrupted  and  undaunted  through  the  social  storms  of 
all  ages — which  created  the  well  known  and  significant 
45 


phrase  vox  populi,  vox  Dei,  which  fully  symbolizes  the 
idea  of  human  justice. 

The  people,  being  free,  powerful  and  impartial,  are 
also  generous ;  they  feel  the  offenses  offered  to  others 
as  if  they  were  offered  to  themselves,  and  an  irresis- 
tible and  heroic  force,  which  I  have  called  human  soli- 
darity, always  impels  them  to  take  the  side  of  the  weaker 
who  have  been  provoked  and  assaulted  by  the  stronger. 

Therefore  it  would  be  easy  for  a  people,  in  case  of 
impending  war,  to  force  its  own  government — which 
would  obstinately  keep  the  nation  neutral  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  belligerent  side  which  is  in  the  wrong — to 
armed  intervention  in  favor  of  the  side  which  is  right. 

That  this  was  not  difficult  of  accomplishment,  was 
proved  by  the  Italian  people  in  the  spring  of  1915  in  a 
manner  now  written  large  in  history ;  in  a  manner  which 
can  well  be  an  example  to  all  peoples  and  an  admonition 
to  all  governments,  present  and  future,  in  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

Fifth  Note:  What  reason  have  I  for  the  belief  that 
only  by  the  abolition  of  neutrality  can  war  be  quickly 
and  forever  prevented? 

Three  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixteen  years 
elapsed  between  the  making  of  the  first  treaty  known 
to  history,  that  of  the  Amphictyones  in  1496  B.  C.,  up 
to  breaking  out  of  the  great  war  July  28,  1914. 

During  this  time  there  were  fifteen  hundred  treaties 
stipulated  in  the  world,  various  ones  of  which  were 
called  leagues.  A  treaty  was  signed  on  an  average  of 
once  every  twenty-seven  months.  Treaties  of  peace, 
arbitration,  division,  alliance,  confederation,  composi- 
tion, commerce,  friendship,  concord,  union,  reconcilia- 
tion, navigation,  subsidies,  etc.  Treaties  of  perpetual 
confederation,  perpetual  peace,  perpetual  alliance,  per- 
petual union,  good  friendship,  definite  peace,  etc.1 

lfThe  number   1500   includes  only  the   "principal"   treaties,    not 
46 


But  all  of  these  things  have  not  succeeded  in  prevent- 
ing wars. 

And  much  less  could  the  League  of  Nations  succeed, 
formed,  as  it  was,  during  the  year  1919  as  a  corollary 
of  the  great  war. 

No  treaty  can  prevent  wars.  No  treaty  could  ever 
prevent  wars.  Because  the  present  treaties,  including 
that  which  is  called  the  League  of  Nations,  are  nothing 
other — and  treaties  of  the  future  could  be  nothing  other 
— than  a  repetition  of  preceding  treaties.  Because  the 
present  treaties,  including  that  which  is  called  League 
of  Nations,  do  not  represent,  and  future  treaties  could 
not  represent,  the  genuine  will  of  the  people,  but  they 
do  represent  and  could  represent  instead,  as  have  the 
preceding  treaties,  the  authority  of  the  governments 
which  always  have  been  emanations  of  the  privileged 
classes  and  not  the  emanation  of  the  people,  as  I  posi- 
tively demonstrated  in  the  chapter  entitled  Human 
Solidarity;  and,  indeed.,  as  has  been  too  well  confirmed 
by  the  facts  officially  and  publicly  laid  before  the  world 
from  the  day  when  the  peace  negotiations  were  begun  at 
the  Paris  Conference  up  to  the  present  time. 

Only  my  idea  against  neutrality — a  conception  which 
never  before  has  been  advanced  in  any  part  of  the  world 
nor  in  any  epoch — can  quickly  and  forever  prevent  wars. 

Only  by  this  newest  conception,  based  exclusively  on 
the  just  authority  of  the  people  and  not  on  the  partisan 
authority  of  the  governments,  can  finally — after  thou- 
sands of  years  of  hate,  struggles,  bloodshed,  extermi- 
nation, sorrow,  mourning  and  misery  of  every  sort — be 
initiated  on  the  earth  the  true  and  perennial  kingdom 
of  peace,  love  and  happiness. 


those  of  "secondary"  importance;  not  the  permanent  tribunal  of  in- 
ternational arbitration  at  the  Hague  instituted  July  29,  1899;  not  the 
national  and  international  peace  societies  and  Congresses  which 
flourished  before  and  after  the  above  tribunal. 

47 


THE  OMNIPOTENTS— AN  INSPIRATIONAL 
PROPHECY1 

THE  present  great  war  is  the  logical  and  natural 
epilogue   of  the  evils   committed   by   the  privi- 
leged class   during  its  long  dominion  over  the 
world.     It  is  the  culmination  of  that  which  this  class 
could  practically  always  commit  to  the  harm  of  the  en- 
tire world. 

It  is  true  that  the  defenders  of  human  rights  have 
counterposed  across  the  centuries  the  fruits  of  their 
minds,  vigorous,  noble,  and  immortal;  the  impulse  of 
their  conscience,  kind,  pitiful,  and  affectionate;  the 
martyrdoms  of  their  flesh,  heroic,  magnanimous,  and 
sublime.  But  all  this  effusion  of  beauty  has  not  been 
able  to  prevent  the  opening  of  that  Pandora's  box  and 
the  escaping  of  the  miasm  of  its  putrid  contents  to  the 
infection  of  the  entire  social  organism. 

This  indicates  that  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  ma- 
terial elements  used  by  the  defenders  of  human  rights, 
however  much  they  may  spring  from  the  purest  foun- 
tains of  thought  and  sentiments,  and  however  ardently 
they  may  have  reached  toward  the  holiest  ideals  of  life, 
were  not  adaptable  to  human  nature  ( neither  to  the 
oppressors  nor  to  the  oppressed).  If  they  had  been 
adaptable,  humanity  would  have  assimilated  them.  And 
at  the  present  time  there  would  be  neither  oppressed  nor 
oppressors.  All  would  have  already  entered  voluntarily 
or  involuntarily  into  that  longed-for  phase  of  civil  life. 

*I  herewith  reproduce  this  chapter  from  my  bi-lingual  book 
WHY  ITALY  ENTERED  INTO  THE  GREAT  WAR— PERCHfc 
L' ITALIA  fe  ENTRATA  NELLA  GRANDE  GUERRA  (Chicago, 
July,  1917),  believing  that  the  present  status  of  international-polit- 
ical-economical events  (April-May,  1922),  so  full  of  radiant  hopes, 
justify  recognition  of  my  inspirational  prophecy. 

48 


Into  that  phase  in  which  the  people,  all  peoples  with- 
out distinction,  can  find  only  justice,  liberty,  prosperity, 
brotherhood,  peace,  and  happiness. 

From  the  ruins  of  the  great  war,  saturated  by  the 
blood  and  anguish  of  all  the  human  family,  will  arise  a 
breath  of  new  and  vitalizing  energy.  This  breath  will 
create  a  new  order  of  men,  who  will  be  omnipotent,  and 
will  be  called  the  Omnipotent 8. 

I  predict  this  with  the  emotion  born  of  inmost  cer- 
tainty. 

The  Omnipotents  will  take  the  place  of  those  (both 
lay  and  ecclesiastic)  who  have  never  done  other  than 
defend  in  vain  the  rights  of  humanity. 

The  Omnipotents  will  overthrow  those  (lay  and  eccle- 
siastic) who  do  not  do  other  than  obstinately  further 
evil. 

But  their  work — the  work  of  the  Omnipotents —  will 
not  have  the  sudden  destructive  violence  of  seismic 
movements.  Their  work  will  be  like  the  gradual,  fruit- 
ful virtue  of  the  sun  which  appears  every  morning  on  the 
horizon.  Their  work  will  have  the  active  principle  of 
love,  and,  as  such,  will  penetrate  into  the  debilitated  so- 
cial organism  (and  no  deleterious  influence  will  be  able 
to  stop  it)  ;  it  will  purify ;  it  will  heal ;  it  will  be  raised 
to  the  highest  summits  of  physical,  psychological,  and 
spiritual  perfection,  to  the  point  where  the  poetical 
dream  of  my  Campanella  will  finally  become  a  reality 
— always  progressive  and  triumphant  in  the  daily  and 
perennial  life  of  the  human  race : 

0  pietas,  o  prisca  fides,  o  Candida  corda, 
Lugentum  ignorantumque  atri  abler e  color es; 
Exulet  Impletas,  fraudes,  mendacla,  lltes. 
Nee  tlmeant  agnvae  lupum,  aut  armenta  leonem; 
Inque  bonum  popull  dlscent  regnare  tyrannl; 
Ocla  cessarunt  et  cessavere  Idbores, 
Nam  labor  est  locus,  In  multos  partltus  amice. 
49 


O  pity,  0  faith,  0  pure  heart, 

Of  lying  and  ignorance  the  black  colors  have  faded. 

Wickedness,  deceit,  lying,  and  wrangling,  will  have 

burned  out. 
No  longer  will  the  lambs  fear  the  wolves,  nor  the  herds 

the  lion, 

And  let  the  people  teach  the  tyrants  to  rule  well, 
Laziness  will  cease  and  labors  will  become 
A  pleasure,  when  divided  equally  among  many  friends.1 


1Appropos  of  the  above  chapter,  I  quote  comment  of  the  CHI- 
CAGO DAILY  TRIBUNE— the  World's  Greatest  Newspaper: 

"Mr.  Carnovale  has  been  thorough  in  his  explanation.  *  *  * 
In  the  concluding  chapter  the  author  says  that  "the  present  war 
is  the  logical  and  natural  epilogue  of  the  evils  committed  by  the 
privileged  class  during  their  long  dominion  over  the  world."  This 
privileged  and  dominant  class  must  pass  •  away,  Mr.  Carnovale 
declares,  and  "from  the  ruins  of  this  great  war,  saturated  by  the 
blood  and  anguish  of  all  the  human  family,  will  arise  a  breath  of 
new  and  vitalizing  energy.  This  breath  will  create  a  new  order  of 
men,  who  will  be  omnipotent,  and  who  will  be  called  the  Omnip- 
otents"  The  function  of  this  high  order  will  be  to  defend  the 
rights  of  humanity — "their  work  will  be  like  the  gradual,  fruitful 
virtue  of  the  sun  which  appears  every  morning  on  the  horizon. 
*  *  *  Upon  this  note  of  poetic  vision  the  book  closes.  This  uplift 
of  hope  and  ardor  of  expression  should  not  be  regarded  as  in  any 
way  an  indication  of  careless  historic  research  or  record.  It  is 
rather  the  effort  of  a  creative  and  eager  mind  to  lift  itself  above 
the  dark  chaos  and  agony  of  the  present  time." 

SO 


Extracts  from  Press  Reviews  of  the  book, 
WHY  ITALY  ENTERED  INTO  THE 
GREAT  WAR,  from  which  the  chapter  en- 
titled Human  Solidarity  here  reproduced  is 
taken. 


THE  MANCHESTER    GUARDIAN    (Manchester,   England): 

"Why  Italy  entered  into  the  Great  War."  By  Luigi  Carnpvale. 
In  English  and  Italian.  Chicago:  Italian-American  Publishing 
Company.  Pp.  673. 

To  the  deep  love  of  country  which  has  inspired  this  book  is 
added  the  pathos  of  exile.  The  writer  who  cannot  be  in  the  midst 
of  the  fighting  and  struggle  in  his  native  land,  has  put  into  his 
work  a  burning  zeal  and  energy.  Others  will  fight  better  because 
of  him,  he  hopes.  Italia  chiamb.  Alas!  all  his  care  in  documenta- 
tion may  go  unrewarded  yet  awhile,  for  the  world  is  reading 
newspapers,  pamphlets,  and  brief  impressions,  and  has  hardly  the 
time — or  rather  the  patience — for  such  fundamental  work  as 
Signer  Carnovale's.  But  he  writes  for  a  judicial  time,  which  shall 
surely  come;  and  he  has  given  himself  space  and  leisure  in  stating 
the  whole  case  of  his  country.  Such  a  book  has  permanent  value 
as  a  source  of  reference,  from  the  very  completeness  which  may 
frighten  hasty  readers  today.  So  we  have  the  whole  story  of  the 
relations  of  Italy  and  Austria  from  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  told  in  great  detail,  with  copious  notes  and  documents.  The 
tale  of  the  Trentino,  the  tale  of  Trieste,  the  old  memories  of  the 
Risorgimento  and  of  the  martyrs  are  here  to  rouse  the  heart  that 
sinks  a  little  under  the  rather  poor  story  of  official  Italy  under  the 
Triplice.  It  comes  down  to  the  entry  of  Italy  into  the  war,  and  con- 
tains much  that  English  readers  did  not  find  in  their  newspapers. 
*  *  *  This  crowded  and  enthusiastic  book  may  strike  some  as 
fanatical  should  they  happen  on  the  reference  to  Meucci,  "the 
defrauded  inventor  of  the  telephone  which  today  is  called  the 
Bell."  But  Signor  Carnovale's  own  theme  is  too  absorbing  to  admit 
of  many  irrelevances — it  is  the  only  one — and  his  duty  too  clear; 
to  justify  the  fighters  throughout  the  generations,  and  to  win  for 
them  not  merely  reasoned  approval  but  the  recognition  .of  their 
glory. 

THE  LONDON  TIMES  (London,  England) : 

The  author  writes  this  book  to  defend  his  country  from  the 
charges  made  that  Italy  had  been  guilty  of  treachery  in  declaring 
void  the  treaty  of  the  Triple  Alliance. 

51 


OXFORD  JOURNAL    (Oxford,  England): 

Signer  Carnovale  gives  the  full  text  of  the  communications  which 
passed  betweent  the  Great  Powers  in  the  last  few  days  before  the 
war  commenced.     This  fact  alone  renders  the  work  of  permanent 
value. 
BRISTOL  EVENING  NEWS  (Bristol,  England) : 

All  students  of  European  politics  should  read  "Why  Italy 
Entered  into  the  Great  War,"  by  Luigi  Carnovale.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  works  which  has  been  issued  since  the  outbreak 
of  the  war. 

BRISTOL  TIMES  AND  MIRROR  (Bristol,  England)  : 

A  glance  only  at  Luigi  Carnovale's  volume,  "Why  Italy  Entered 
into  the  Great  War,"  will  be  found  enough  to  convince  the  most 
sceptical  of  the  righteousness  of  Italy's  action. 

EDINBURGH  EVENING  DISPATCH  (Edinburgh,  Scotland): 

*  *     *     The  book  is  passionately  patriotic.     *     *     *     The  general 
reader  will  find  enough  to  clearly  understand  the  Italian's  motive 
in  entering  the  war  and  will  follow  the  operations  on  the  Italian 
front  with  more  interest  and  deeper  sympathy. 

THE  EVENING  NEWS   (Edinburgh,  Scotland) : 

*  *     *     From   a  chapter  showing  the  splendid   patriotism   which 
prompted  our  Allies'  action  the  writer  goes  on  to  show  that  the 
love  of  humanity  had  much  to  do  with  the  decision.     *     *     *     The 
refutation  of  the  charge  that  British  and  French  gold  held  sway 
forms  an  enlightening  chapter. 

THE  GLASGOW  HERALD    (Glasgow,  Scotland): 

*  *     *     Sig.  Carnovale  has  carried  out  with  meticulous  care  his 
self-imposed  task  of  justifying  to  the  world  the  action  of  his  native 
country  in  entering  the  war.     *     *     *     Part  IV  recaptiulates  with 
all    of    the    author's    idealistic    fervor    the    actual    reasons    which 
plunged  his  country  into  the  strife. 

THE  EVENING  TIMES  (Glasgow,  Scotland) : 

In  a  handsome  volume  of  almost  700  pages  Signer  Luigi  Car- 
novale justifies  the  action  of  his  native  country  in  breaking  the 
Triple  Alliance.  *  *  *  Of  course,  the  people  of  this  country 
and  France  need  no  such  justification.  But  Signor  Carnovale's 
volume  is  none  the  less  interesting  and  valuable.  *  *  *  The 
present  generation  of  readers  knows  comparatively  little  of  what 
the  Italian  Peninsula  passed  through  from  the  time  of  Maria 
Theresa  down  to  the  unification  in  1870.  »  *  *  Here  in  the  first 
part  of  the  book  we  have  the  story  told  briefly  and  in  the  enthusi- 
astic language  of  intense  patriotism.  *  *  *  The  second  part 
is  of  equal  interest  and  perhaps  of  greater  importance.  *  *  * 
In  the  third  part  Signor  Carnovale  deals  with  the  events  leading 
up  to  Italy's  entrance  on  the  field  of  strife.  This  section  is  of 
special  value  for  the  official  documents  which  it  includes.  *  *  * 

52 


The  fourth  and  concluding  part  is  that  most  characteristic  of  the 
author's  fervid  style.  *  *  *  It  may  be  explained  that  the 
great  bulk  of  this  noteworthy  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  war 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  includes  not  only  an  excellent  English 
translation,  but  the  original  Italian  text. 

SCOTSMAN    (Edinburgh,  Scotland): 

Sig.  Carnovale's  volume  is  physically  gather  a  heavy  book  be- 
cause it  appears  in  two  languages — English  and  Italian,  but  there 
is  no  sort  of  heaviness  at  all  about  its  literary  or  about  its  patri- 
otic spent. 

THE  CORK  EXAMINER   (Cork,  Ireland) : 

*  *  *  It  is  evident  that  the  author  caused  much  examination 
of  conscience  in  the  United  States  even  before  that  country  joined 
in  on  the  same  side  as  Italy. 

THE  HAMILTON  DAILY  TIMES  (Hamilton,  Canada) : 

This  is  an  ambitious  and  important  volume,  one  half  of  which  is 
in  the  English  Language  and  the  other  half  in  the  Italian  language. 
It  is  a  defense  of  Italy's  participation  in  the  war  by  Luigi  Carno- 
vale,  the  Italian  author  and  statesman. 

THE  AUCKLAND  STAR  (Auckland,  New  Zealand,  Australia): 
The  author  of  "Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War,"  an 
Italian  by  birth,  living  in  the  United  States,  possesses  the  special 
qualifications  for  his  task  in  that  he  knows  intimately  the  feelings 
and  aspirations  of  the  Italian  people,  and  at  the  same  time,  because 
of  his  residence  in  America,  is  able  to  bring  to  bear  upon  recent 
events  something  of  the  judicial  spirit  which  is  difficult  to  pre- 
serve in  the  midst  of  the  popular  excitement  that  prevails  in  a 
country  actively  engaged  in  a  great  war.  Signor  Carnovale  vigor- 
ously resents  the  suggestion  that  Italy  entered  the  war  from  a 
selfish  desire  to  acquire  Trent  and  Trieste,  or  that  she  was  guilty 
of  an  act  of  treachery  in  declaring  void  the  treaty  of  the  Triple 
Alliance.  He  shows  that  the  sentiments  which  irresistibly  pushed 
Italy  to  war  were  sympathy  for  the  weak  nations  whose  liberty 
and  honour  were  assailed  by  the  Central  Powers.  *  *  *  The 
author  sustains  his  contentions  by  copious  quotations  from  public 
documents.  His  book  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of 
the  war. 

LE  RAPPEL  (Paris,  France)  : 

There  has  been  called  to  our  attention  a  large  and  fine  volume 
by  Luigi  Carnovale,  published  in  Chicago  in  English  and  Italian, 
"Why  Italy  Entered  in  the  Great  War."  *  *  *  The  question 
of  irredentism  is  treated  in  a  masterful  manner. 

REVUE  BLEUE   (Paris,  France)  : 

The  object  of  the  work  by  Luigi  Carnovale  is  to  explain  to  the 
Americans  the  reasons  for  which  Italy  entered  into  the  war  against 
her  ancient  allies.  *  *  *  One  of  the  most  important  points 

53 


which  the   author  brings  out  is   a   respect  for  the   rights  of  the 
weaker  and  love  for  humanity. 

DIARIO  DE  NOTICIAS  (Lisbon,  Portugal) : 

Of  all  of  the  works  on  the  war  which  have  passed  through  our 
hands  in  these  tragic  years,  none  has  seemed  more  complete,  more 
minute  and  more  conclusive  than  that  written  by  Signor  Carnovale. 
*  *  *  It  clears  many  points  which  at  first  seemed  complicated 
even  in  the  eyes  of  the  best  educated.  *  *  *  We  recognize  in 
the  work  of  Signor  Carnovale  a  burning  love  of  country,  an  ardor 
of  defense  which  was  necessary  to  confute  the  adversaries  who 
accused  Italy. 

LA  RAZON  (Buenos  Aires,  Argentina)  : 

Signor  Carnovale  with  a  vast  erudition  and  a  clear  historical 
vision  narrates  in  "Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War"  events 
from  ancient  times  to  the  great  national  and  international  move- 
ments which  preceded  the  consolidation  of  the  Italian  unity.  *  * 
The  author  of  this  interesting  book  shows  himself  to  be  an 
Italian  inamoured  of  his  country  and  of  the  ideals  of  its  history, 
and  he  shows  himself  to  be  an  historian  of  exceptional  value.  His 
work  will  serve  to  increase  the  love  and  respect  of  the  public  for 
the  great  Italy  which  is  fighting  and  triumphing. 
THE  JAPAN  TIMES  (Tokyo-Yokohama,  Japan)  : 

Mr.  Carnovale's  former  book  on  the  immigrants  in  North  Amer- 
ica has  won  him  a  reputation  as  a  student  of  international  affairs 
and  a  capable  writer. 

THE  UNION   (Shanghai,  China): 

This  work  of  673  pages  gives  the  history  of  Italy.  It  is  full 
of  illuminating  reading  and  exceedingly  interesting.  The  book 
is  well  worth  reading. 

SOUTH  CHINA  MORNING  POST  (Hongkong,  China) : 

Mr.  Carnovale's  book  is  very  readable  and  should  interest 
everyone  who  is  interested  in  Italy.  The  author  has  a  consummate 
grasp  of  Italian  history. 

SHANGHAI  MERCURY  (Shanghai,  China)  : 

To  those  who  wish  to  know  why  Italy  entered  into  the  great 
war,  we  recommend  this  well  written  and  valuable  work.  English 
and  alien  readers  will  find  it  well  worth  studying.  The  author, 
who  is  proud  of  his  country,  in  issuing  this  book  has  bestowed  on 
Italy  an  excellent  deed  which  deserves  his  country's  thanks. 

THE  CHICAGO  EVENING  POST  (Chicago,  Illinois) : 

The  author  gives  an  historical  justification  for  Italy's  entry 
into  the  war  that  is  complete.  He  gives  this  not  only  as  an  historian 
but  as  an  Italian;  that  is  to  say  he  puts  over  the  actual  feeling 
as  well  as  the  intellectual  position  of  the  patriotic  Italian.  And 
lastly  he  writes  as  a  philosopher  whose  vision  not  bounded  by  the 
war,  who  does  not  visualize  war  as  something  good  in  contradis- 

54 


tinction  to  something  puerile  called  pacifism,  but  who  can  see  paci- 
fism as  a  good  which  is  to  be  won  through  the  present  war.  * 
*  *  Mr.  Carnovale,  who,  according  to  an  announcement,  will 
shortly  give  us  a  life  of  the  great  Italian  thinker  Campanella,  is 
himself  what  might  be  called  an  Utopian  philosopher.  He  sees 
this  war  as  the  logical  result  of  a  system  of  life  that  has  been 
contemptuous  of  Utopian  dreaming  and  he  sees  the  futility  of  the 
age-long  efforts  to  reform  it.  *  *  *  Mr.  Carnovale's  pages 
reveal  the  typical  Italian  as  a  man  with  a  vivid  historical  sense 
as  well  as  the  artistic  sense,  with  which  alone  we  credit  him.  He 
is  emotional,  it  is  true,  but  when  he  puts  his  emotions  into  "lost 
causes,"  causes  which  he  knows  send  their  adherents  to  martyrdom, 
people  of  slower  blood  must  take  off  their  hats.  *  *  *  To  read 
these  pages  is  to  understand  very  thoroughly  and  to  sympathize 
deeply  with  Italy's  aims  in  the  war.  To  read  the  concluding 
chapter  is  to  realize  that  after  Kultur  has  been  put  into  its  place, 
the  Latin  spirit  may  have  momentous  contributions  to  make  to  our 
revolving  human  life.  In  the  past  our  educational  orientation 
toward  Germany  has  given  us  a  very  incomplete  share  in  Euro- 
pean culture.  France  we  have  known  fairly  well,  but  of  Italian 
thought  we  have  known  very  little.  Mr.  Carnovale  may  do  much 
to  correct  our  perspective. 

THE  CHICAGO  TRIBUNE  (Chicago,  Illinois)  : 

Mr.  Carnovale  has  been  thorough  in  his  explanations.  *  *  * 
In  the  concluding  chapter  the  author  says  that  "the  present  war  is 
the  logical  and  natural  epilogue  of  the  evils  committed  by  the 
privileged  class  during  their  long  dominion  over  the  world." 
This  privileged  and  dominant  class  must  pass  away,  Mr.  Carno- 
vale declares,  and  "from  the  ruins  of  this  great  war,  saturated  by 
the  blood  and  anguish  of  all  the  human  family,  will  arise  a  breath 
of  new  and  vitalizing  energy.  This  breath  will  create  a  new  order 
of  men,  who  will  be'  omnipotent,  and  who  will  be  called  the 
Omnipotent*."  The  functions  of  this  high  order  will  be  to  defend 
the  rights  of  humanity — "their  work  will  be  like  the  gradual, 
fruitful  virtue  of  the  sun  which  appears  every  morning  on  the 
horizon."  *  *  *  Upon  this  note  of  poetic  vision  the  book  closes. 
This  uplift  of  hope  and  ardor  of  expression  should  not  be  regarded 
as  in  any  way  an  indication  of  careless  historic  research  or  record. 
It  is  rather  the  effort  of  a  creative  and  eager  mind  to  lift  itself 
above  the  dark  chaos  and  agony  of  the  present  time. 
THE  CHICAGO  DAILY  JOURNAL  (Chicago,  Illinois): 

This  is  a  book  with  a  double  text,  English  and  Italian  *  *  * 
and  a  very  interesting  book  it  is. 

CHICAGO  HERALD  AND  EXAMINER   (Chicago,  Illinois): 

Mr.  Carnovale  has  a  strong,  firm  grasp  on  history,  and  he  goes 
back  many  decades  to  trace  the  evolution  of  causes  behind  Italy's 
union  with  the  Allies.  *  *  *  This  volume  should  be  a  valuable 

55 


addition  to  the  library  of  any  person  who  would  delve  deeply  into 

the  motives  behind  the  war. 

THE  WOMEN'S  PRESS   (Chicago,  Illinois)  : 

In  reviewing  "Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War,"  by  Luigi 
Carnovale,  one  feels  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the ^ author  for  those 
details  of  Italy's  history  of  which  most  of  us  are  in  ignorance.  The 
history  of  Italy  lacks  the  dramatic  quality  of  France.  The  French 
emotionalism  makes  for  picturesqueness.  The  Italian  temperament 
is  rather  one  of  passionate  loyalty,  a  dogged  belief  in  its  rights,  and 
the  firm  adherence  to  those  rights,  which  is  the  making  of  martyrs. 
The  book  on  the  whole  is  a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  ever  in- 
creasing war  library.  In  the  author's  purity  of  diction,  his  pre- 
cision of  execution  and  his  unbiased  but  patriotic  point  of  view, 
he  has  given  us  a  document  of  enormous  value,  not  only  as  a  book 
of  reference,  but  as  a  work  of  history  which  an  eager  army  of 
knowledge  seekers  will  gladly  welcome. 

UNITY  (Chicago,  Illinois) : 

Our  own  Chicago  Carnovale  has  produced  in  "Why  Italy  En- 
tered into  the  Great  War,"  what  is  unquestionably  the  most  val- 
uable contribution  to  European  political  history  that  has  been  in- 
spired by  the  war.  It  is  a  book  that  will  stay  on  the  shelf  of  the 
student,  and  whoever  undertakes  to  deal  with  Italian  subjects  or 
interests  will  have  to  reckon  with  this  book.  *  *  *  It  is  not 
alone  to  this  portion  of  Mr.  Carnovale's  book,  however,  that  today's 
student  of  international  affairs  should  turn,  but  particularly  to  his 
very  remarkable  chapter  of  "Human  Solidarity,"  in  which  he  sets 
forth  a  point  of  view  as  interesting  as  it  is  unique.  *  *  *  In 
a  phrase,  the  solution  offered  for  the  prevention  of  war  is  the 
abolition  of  neutrality.  Mr.  Carnovale  urges  that  every  nation, 
when  a  weaker  nation  is  attacked  by  a  stronger,  should  leap  to 
arms  in  defense  of  the  weaker  nation,  on  the  ground  that  "the 
cause  of  the  weak  is  always  beautiful,  sacred  and  worthy  of 
victory."  Had  the  Central  Powers,  he  contends,  known  that  no 
nation  would  remain  neutral,  but  that  instantly,  upon  the  attempted 
infringement  of  the  independence  of  Serbia,  the  world  would 
have  taken  up  arms  in  her  defense,  they  would  never  have  entered 
upon  their  disastrous  enterprise.  *  *  *  It,  of  course,  is  obvious  that 
the  weaker  nation  may  not  always  be  in  the  right,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  it  is  the  people,  and  not  the  governments,  upon 
which  the  author  is  relying  for  action.  It  is  that  fundamental  sense 
of  justice  and  right,  that  almost  instinctive  feeling  for  human 
liberty,  characteristic  of  the  masses  of  the  people  everywhere, 
which  he  believes  could  be  depended  upon  to  determine  whether 
the  weaker  nation  involved  in  any  given  case  is  right  or  wrong.  * 
'  This  deep,  spontaneous,  untaught  wisdom  of  the  people 
puts  to  shame  the  self-seeking  diplomacy  of  their  rulers.  Just 
as  in  the  late  war,  the  people  of  Italy,  cognizant  of  the  human 
issues  involved,  forced  their  government  to  enter  the  conflict  in  be- 
half of  little  Serbia  and  Belgium,  so  it  seems  probable  that  the 
people  of  any  nation,  since  the  people  are  always  far  ahead  of  their 

56 


governments  in  love  of  liberty  and  devotion  to  justice,  might  in 
any  given  case  force  such  action  upon  their  governments  as  would 
bring  about  intervention  on  the  side  of  right.  It  is  this  divine 
common  sense  of  the  people  of  the  world  which  Mr.  Carnovale 
embodies  in  his  phrase,  "Human  Solidarity."  It  is,  of  course,  only 
in  this  spiritual  entente  of  the  peoples  of  the  world  that  the  hope 
of  the  world  lies  today.  The  need  is  for  them  to  learn  how  to 
make  this  force  effective  that  they  may  more  readily  control  their 
governments  instead  of  being  controlled  by  them.  Then  one  might 
hope,  not  only  for  the  defense  of  a  weaker  nation,  but  for  such 
action  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  an  aggressor  nation  as  would 
prevent  its  aggression. 

THE  DIAL    (Chicago,  Illinois).* 

A  work  of  marked  value  for  the  study  of  one  phase  of  the 
present  world-conflict  is  Luigi  Carnovale's  bi-lingual  volume, 
"Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War."  *  *  *  Mr.  Carno- 
vale has  a  reputation  as  a  journalist  both  in  Italy  and  America  and 
is  one  of  the  younger  school  of  radical  reformers.  *  *  *  As 
a  resident  of  Chicago  he  casts  his  eye  not  only  over  the  Great 
War,  but  over  some  of  the  lesser  wars,  which  in  our  own  city  and 
country  have  been  caused  by  economic  injustice. 

*Now  of  New  York,  N.  Y. 

THE  ROCKFORD  DAILY  STAR   (Rockford,  Illinois) : 

The  latest  book  by  Luigi  Carnovale  deals  with  Italian  history  in 
an  orderly  though  very  spirited  manner.  Signor  Carnovale  writes 
with  fluency  and  force.  His  words  have  what  is  now  commonly 
understood  as  "pep."  The  text,  printed  in  both  English  and  Italian, 
will  hold  the  reader  in  rapt  interest,  whether  he  may  choose  to 
differ  with  the  author  on  sociological  questions  or  not. 

THE  JOLIET  HERALD-NEWS  ( Joliet,  Illinois) : 
*  *  *  These  are  the  reasons  given  by  Luigi  Carnovale  for  the 
appearance  of  one  of  the  most  careful  and  instructive  analysis 
that  we  have  seen,  bearing  upon  the  European  war.  Signor 
Carnovale,  now  a  resident  of  Chicago  and  author  of  several  note- 
worthy volumes,  tells  in  English  and  Italian  "Why  Italy  Entered 
into  the  Great  War."  The  painstaking  research  of  Signor  Carno- 
vale has  produced  a  volume  valuable,  not  only  for  its  complete 
justification  of  Italy's  course  in  the  European  conflict,  but  as  an 
historical  work. 

THE  BULLETIN   (San  Francisco,  California)  : 

It  is  by  far  the  most  comprehensive  volume  on  this  subject  that 
has  thus  far  come  to  us  and  explains  fully  the  position  of  Italy. 

LOS  ANGELES  EXAMINER  (Los  Angeles,  California) : 

If  ever  there  lived  one  peculiarly  fitted  to  enact  the  role  of  ad- 
vocate and  apologist  for  the  Italian  people,  that  man  is  Luigi 
Carnovale,  author  of  "Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War." 
It  is  a  great  book  in  some  respects.  *  *  *  It  is  a  mine  of 

57 


information  in  regard  to  the  history  of  the  Peninsula  during  the 
nineteenth  century.  True,  this  elaborate  and  comprehensive  resume 
is  written  with  a  pen  dipped  in  vitriol;  but  the  student  of  welt- 
politik  will  not  mind  that  on  account  of  its  value  as  history  for 
ready  reference.  *  *  *  These  contributions  to  the  literature 
of  the  struggle  are  important  enough  to  entitle  Signor  Carnovale's 
work  to  an  important  place  in  every  international,  diplomatic, 
public  and  well  equipped  private  library  in  .the  United  States. 
The  book  is  scholarly,  interesting  and  impressive. 

LOS  ANGELES  TIMES  (Los  Angeles,  California) : 

No  part  of  public  school  education  is  more  deficient  in  fact  than 
that  relating  to  modern  Italy;  and  as  a  result,  comparatively  few 
Americans  have  more  than  the  vaguest  conception  of  an  historical 
background.  *  *  *  Signor  Carnovale,  with  the  dramatic  and 
temperamental  enthusiasm  of  his  race,  has  written  this  comprehen- 
sive book  to  show  the  reasons  for  Italy's  course. 

THE  LOS  ANGELES  TRIBUNE  (Los  Angeles,  California) : 

This  book  makes  Italy's  case  clear  to  the  world  and  is  one  of 
the  most  important  documents  of  the  war. 

SOUTHWESTERN  FREEMASON  (Los  Angeles,  California) : 

An  historical  volume  ("Italy  and  the  Great  War")  which  is  a 
pertinent  contribution  to  the  literature  of  these  eventful  times. 

OAKLAND  TRIBUNE  (Oakland,  California) : 

Carnovale's  book  is  a  hideous  record,  written  with  clarity, 
sanity,  and  deliberation,  leading  the  mind  to  see  a  series  of  pictures 
beginning  with  old  Roman  days  and  proving  the  historic  rights  of 
Italy  and  the  lands  she  claims  today.  The  struggles  of  Dante, 
Garibaldi,  Mazzini,  Cavour  and  other  patriots  to  realize  this 
complete  unity  are  graphically  and  poetically  set  forth,  for  the 
author  is  a  poet  as  well  as  a  vivid  historian. 

MERCURY  HERALD  (San  Jose,  California) : 

Flaming  bursts  of  patriotism  illuminate  each  chapter  in  spite  of 
an  evident  desire  to  relate  impartially  the  wrongs  which  Italy  has 
suffered.  It  is  good  to  know  a  patriot  such  as  Signor  Carnovale ; 
it  is  inspiring  to  read  his  book,  and  long  before  one  arrives  at  the 
final  determination  of  Italy  to  enter  the  war  in  1915,  not  a  doubt 
remains  but  that  it  was  high  sentiments  only  which  pushed  the 
Italians  to  war  against  Austria.  Beyond  a  doubt,  Italy's  position  has 
been  vindicated  long  since,  but  if  there  remain  any  thoughtful 
Americans  who  still  question  it  they  should  read  this  masterful 
volume. 

THE  HARTFORD  COURANT  (Hartford,  Connecticut) : 

The  book  is  a  valuable  historical  work  apart  from  its  prime 
motive,  and  contains  a  mass  of  information  which  should  prove 
useful  in  justifying  both  to  English  and  Italian  readers  the  course 
taken  by  Italy  in  the  present  conflict. 

58 


THE  HARTFORD  TIMES   (Hartford,  Connecticut): 

This  large  and  important  volume  gives  in  both  English  and 
Italian  the  reasons  for  Italy's  entrance  into  the  war  on  the  side 
of  the  Allies.  Signor  Carnovale  has  made  quite  clear  that  the 
true  place  of  Italy  is  with  those  peoples  who  fight  for  govern- 
ment by  the  people. 

WATERBURY  REPUBLICAN  (Waterbury,  Connecticut): 

Luigi  Carnovale,  the  brilliant  historian  of  Chicago,  has  just 
produced  a  bulky  book,  "Why  Italy  Entered  into  the  Great  War." 
The  author  shows  the  artist's  hand  often  in  the  marshalling  of 
his  facts.  The  passage  of  the  death  of  the  wife  of  Garibaldi  is 
powerfully  pathetic.  Not  long,  however,  does  Carnovale  rest  on 
this  or  any  other  theme.  There  is  a  nervous  energy,  a  stir  of  the 
library  impulse  surging  through  every  chapter. 

WASHINGTON  EVENING  STAR   (Washington,  District  of  Co- 
lumbia) : 

It  is  a  brilliant  exposition — argument,  description,  persuasion — 
with  the  fires  of  its  own  Italian  spirit  shimmering  through  it. 
Eminently  worth  one's  study  and  consideration  is  this  fervid  and 
eloquent  study  of  Italy  in  the  light  of  its  present  glorious  contri- 
bution to  the  war  for  the  world's  freedom. 

THE  ATLANTA   CONSTITUTION    (Atlanta,   Georgia): 

The  reader  will  find  this  one  of  the  most  interesting  books 
that  has  been  written  during  the  war  and  it  will  take  its  place 
as  one  of  the  best  reference  books  that  has  been  published  up  to 
this  time. 

THE  INDIANAPOLIS  STAR   (Indianapolis,  Indiana) : 

Carnovale's  book  is  printed  both  in  English  and  Italian  and  is 
well  written  in  a  straightforward,  connected,  narrative  form.  He 
presents  the  case  of  his  country  not  emotionally,  but  calmly  and 
judicially,  but  it  is  a  story  to  excite  the  sympathy  and  to  stir  the 
heart  of  humanity.  *  *  *  The  author  is  a  newspaper  writer  of 
experience  and  standing,  and  his  work  has  the  stamp  of  authority. 

THE  AMERICAN  FREEMASON  (Storm  Lake,  Iowa) : 

*    *    *    The  work   has   an    enduring  value,   of   interest   beyond 

the  period  of  the  war. 

THE  COURIER-JOURNAL   (Louisville,  Kentucky): 

The  average  American  is  abysmally  ignorant  of  modern  Ital- 
ian history.  He  may  have  a  smattering  of  French,  English  and 
German  history  in  the  past  fifty  years,  but  he  knows  little  of  the 
rise  of  the  peninsular  kingdom.  To  him  Luigi  Carnovale's  new 
book  can  be  emphatically  recommended.  Signor  Carnovale  calls 
his  volume,  "Why  Italy  Entered  Into  the  Great  War,"  but  in 
tracing  causes  and  effects  he  covers  almost  the  entire  field  of 
Italian  history.  *  *  *  Signor  Carnovale  writes  with  a  fluent 
pen,  and  if  he  errs  it  is  on  the  side  of  patriotism  and  enthusiasm. 

59 


*  *     *     One  of  the  most  brilliant  chapters  is   a  philosophic  dis- 
cussion of  human  solidarity.     He  states  his  case  clearly  and  con- 
vincingly; his  is  a  living  and  interesting  presentation  of  the  Ital- 
ian point  of  view. 

"LIGHT"  (Louisville,  Kentucky)  : 

Luigi  Carnovale  in  "Why  Italy  Entered  Into  the  Great  War"  has 
added    to    the    world's    literature    an    interesting    and    instructive 
book. 
PORTLAND   EVENING  EXPRESS    (Portland,   Maine): 

Luigi  Carnovale,  Italian,  is  master  of  his  subject  and  what  he  has 
to  say  about  the  great  struggle  into  which  his  country  was  pushed 
to  war  will  be  of  particular  interest  to  American  readers.  *  * 

*  His  pages  lack  neither  beauty  nor  sentiment  and  from  first  to  last 
they  exalt  Italy. 

THE  NEW  GUIDE  (Baltimore,  Maryland)  : 

The  author  wields  a  firm  pen,  supported  by  assured  knowledge, 
and  when  he  is  through  with  the  subject  nothing  remains  to  be 
said.  *  *  *  The  motive  of  Italy  is  vindicated. 

THE  BOSTON  ADVERTISER   (Boston,  Massachusetts)  : 

Luigi  Carnovale's  book  will  be  a  revelation.  *  *  *  It  will 
be  a  useful  addition  to  war  libraries. 

THE   CHRISTIAN  REGISTER    (Boston,    Massachusetts): 

This  warm,  eager  defense  of  the  Italian  people,  based  on 
historical  facts,  illuminated  by  illustrative  incidents  and  inspired 
by  an  invincible  hope  that  after  the  world  anguish  of  the  great 
war  a  new  vitalizing  energy  shall  purify  the  social  organism  and 
bring  justice,  peace,  and  brotherhood  to  all  peoples  without  dis- 
tinction, has  been  written  by  a  journalist  of  Chicago.  *  *  * 
The  book  is  unusual  in  that  it  appeals  equally  to  English  and 
Italian  readers.  It  will  promote  a  better  acquaintance  with  our 
Italian  allies  and  their  history. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE  MONITOR  (Boston,  Massachusetts) : 
The  publication  of  Mr.  Carnovale's  book  at  the  present  time 
is  particularly  welcome  and  useful.  *  *  *  It  is  a  welcome 
reminder  of  the  lofty  motives  by  which  Italy  has  been  actuated 
in  the  past.  The  fullness  with  which  he  deals  with  the  Irredentist 
question  sheds  a  light  on  Italy's  purpose  in  entering  the  war,  and 
the  justice  of  her  cause,  which  those  who  have  not  previously 
given  much  study  to  the  matter  will  find  most  useful. 

THE  LIVING  AGE  (Boston,  Massachusetts) : 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  author's  nationality  and  tempera- 
ment should  make  his  literary  style  at  times  too  fervent,  or  that  his 
anticipations  of  future  reconstruction,  not  only  for  Italy  but  for 
the  world,  should  be  extremely  radical.  The  book  has  permanent 
historical  value;  and  Americans  who  read  it  will  feel  a  more 

60 


earnest  desire  than  ever  that  the  results  of  the  war  may  give  to 
Italy  adequate  compensation  for  the  wrongs  which  she  has  suffered 
in  the  past. 

THE  WRITER   (Boston,  Massachusetts)  : 

Writers  on  current  topics  especially  need  the  historical  and 
political  information  that  Mr.  Carnovale  gives  in  a  very  inter- 
esting way. 

THE  DAILY  COURIER    (Lowell,  Massachusetts)  : 

It  is  a  formidable  array  of  facts,  and  leaves  one  clear  in  the 
view  that  no  matter  what  the  present  threat  may  be  on  the  line  of 
the  Piave,  the  Italian  armies  will  never  yield  to  a  foe  that  has 
been  feared  for  more  than  a  century.  Students  of  Italian  will  find 
this  book  of  double  value. 

DETROIT  TIMES   (Detroit,  Michigan): 

This  is  the  first  book  written  in  English,  which  gives  the  Italian 
side  of  the  question.  The  author  is  something  of  an  idealist  and 
predicts  that  when  the  war  is  ended  there  will  be  a  reign  of  "the 
Omnipotents,  who  will  work  thru  the  active  principle  of  love." 
*  *  *  This  book  is  well  worth  the  attention  of  the  earnest 
student  who  seeks  truthfully  to  understand  the  causes  and  the 
probable  outcome  of  the  war.  As  a  history  of  Italy,  it  is  a  valuable 
book  of  reference. 

THE  DETROIT  FREE  PRESS   (Detroit,  Michigan) : 

This  Italian  author  reviews  the  reasons  which  pushed  the  Ital- 
ians into  war  against  Austria.  He  shows  that  they  were 
not  inspired  as  has  been  charged,  either  by  French  or  British 
gold,  or  because  they  were  eager  to  acquire  territory.  Far  nobler 
motives  have  been  ascribed;  the  human  solidarity  of  the  humble 
and  the  weak;  the  rights  of  man  violated  under  Prussianism. 

THE  DULUTH  HERALD    (Duluth,  Minnesota): 

Most  interesting  to  American  readers  is  the  "human  solidarity" 
factor.  *  *  *  Mr.  Carnovale's  book  is  interesting  not  only  for 
its  discussion  of  Italy's  action,  but  for  its  summary  of  important 
historical  matters. 

THE  MENACE   (Aurora,  Missouri)  : 

The  whole  volume  is  a  most  luminously  thoughtful  and  authorita- 
tive treatment  of  vital  and  timely  questions  which  ought  to  appeal 
to  every  thoughtful  American.  Not  only  everyone  who  wishes  to 
keep  abreast  of  the  world  events  connected  with  the  great  war, 
but  for  true  Americans  the  story  of  Italy's  long,  heroic  and  finally 
triumphant  battle  against  despotism  is  a  volume  of  first  importance. 

TRENTON  TIMES-ADVERTISER  (Trenton,  New  Jersey) : 

This  patriotic  son  of  Italy  has  been  plied  with  questions  as  to 
why  his  country  entered  into  the  great  struggle.  There  have  been 
intimations  that  she  was  guilty  of  infamous  treachery.  *  *  * 

61 


The  accusations  have  aroused  the  indignation  of  our  author  and  he 
repudiates  them  with  considerable  display  of  spirit.     *     *     *     Mr. 
Carnovale's  effort  must  take  a  place  of  importance  in  the  literature 
of  the  war. 
THE  WORLD   (New  York,  N.  Y.)  : 

It  is  an  impressive  recital. 
THE  MORNING  TELEGRAPH  (New  York,  N.  Y.) : 

Luigi  Carnovale,  of  Chicago,  makes  a  most  interesting  contribu- 
tion to  war  literature.  *  *  *  The  book  is  doubly  valuable,  for 
that  it  is  published  in  English  and  Italian.  *  *  »  The  argu- 
ment made  by  Mr.  Carnovale  seems  to  be  unanswerable  from  any 
standpoint. 

NEW  YORK  TIMES  (New  York,  N.  Y.) : 

Luigi  Carnovale's  sturdy  volume  presents  an  eloquent  defense 
by  an  Italian,  of  Italy's  participation  in  the  war. 

NEW  YORK  TRIBUNE   (New  York,  N.  Y.) : 

Italy  needs  make  no  apology  for  her  entrance  into  the  great  war. 
*  *  *  Yet  for  renewed  reminder,  for  reference,  and  for  lasting 
record,  it  is  well  to  have  this  compendious  bi-lingual  volume  of 
Mr.  Carnovale.  It  is  the  most  complete  statement  of  the  Italian 
case  and  the  most  judiciously  and  authoritatively  made,  that  we 
have  seen. 

DEMOCRAT  AND  CHRONICLE  (Rochester,  New  York): 

It  is  a  work  of  much  interest  and  considerable  scope  by  the 
noted  Italian  writer  whose  present  home  is  in  Chicago.  *  *  * 
Mr.  Carnovale  does  his  country  a  great  service  *  *  *,  and 
his  book  is  one  of  the  literary  products  of  the  war  that  the  historian 
must  take  into  consideration  when  preparing  his  account  of  the 
great  conflict,  and  one  that  those  who  aspire  no  higher  than  to  be 
well  informed  concerning  events  as  they  pass,  ought  to  have  for 
handy  reference. 

THE  ROCHESTER  HERALD    (Rochester,  New  York): 
The  book  will  be  a  useful  addition  to  war  libraries. 

THE  TROY  RECORD  (Troy,  New  York): 

The  American  reader  will  find  the  work  well  deserving  a  care- 
ful reading.  It  is  entertainingly  written  and  historical  facts  are 
given  with  vivid  detail. 

THE  POST  EXPRESS  (Rochester,  New  York) : 

The  book  as  an  historical  and  political  presentation  of  Italy's 
case  well  deserves  study.  *  *  *  Luigi  Carnovale  is  a  talented 
and  brilliant  writer,  and  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  speaks  of 
his  beloved  Italy  will  appeal  not  only  to  Italians  but  to  the  mil- 
lions who  are  interested  in  the  land  which  was  so  dear  to  Byron, 
Shelley,  and  Browning. 

62 


CLEVELAND  PLAIN  DEALER  (Cleveland,  Ohio) : 

To  many  of  Anglo-Saxon  antecedents  the  book  will  seem  a  bit 
over-written,  but  it  is,  assuredly,  a  valuable  contribution  to  the 
literature  of  the  great  war. 

CINCINNATI  TIMES-STAR    (Cincinnati,  Ohio): 

It  is  the  first  complete  and  authoritative  history  in  English  of  the 
conditions  and  events  that  lead  up  to  the  momentous  action  of  May 
23,  1915. 

MORNING  OREGONIAN   (Portland,  Oregon): 

The  literary  style  shown  in  the  book  is  dashing  and  dramatic. 
Argument  is  piled  on  argument,  until  a  stirring  climax  is  reached. 

THE  PHILADELPHIA  INQUIRER  (Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania) : 
All  that  is  necessary  to  say  is  that  the  book  is  an  elaborate  ex- 
position of  an  important  chapter  in  history,  containing  documents 
which  will  be  of  importance  to  the  historian  who,  when  peace 
arrives,  undertakes  a  calm  survey  of  the  whole  situation. 

THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  (Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania) : 

In  Mr.  Carnovale's  book  the  question  of  irredentism  assumes  its 
real  aspect  and  volume  as  only  one  of  many  reasons  that  have  de- 
termined the  Italian  masses  to  risk  all  in  an  attempt  to  become  a 
world  power.  *  *  *  Of  the  final  outcome  Mr.  Carnovale's 
work  presents  a  significant  forecast. 
THE  SCRANTON  TIMES  (Scranton,  Pennsylvania) : 

It  is  a  painstaking  work  by  an  author  who  has  written  interest- 
ingly and  authoritatively  upon  Italy  and  Italians  before  now,  and 
gives  to  the  reader  the  real  Italian  viewpoint  and  arguments  on  the 
present  war.  *  *  *  It  is  a  work  of  the  utmost  value,  making 
for  a  more  intelligent  understanding  of  the  Italian  side. 
THE  PROVIDENCE  JOURNAL  (Providence,  Rhode  Island) : 

Unique  in  certain  respects,  a  volume  just  published  in  this  country 
deserves  more  than  casual  attention.  *  *  *  Mr.  Carnovale 
gives  all  the  documents  in  the  case,  and  he  is  wise  to  do  this  be- 
cause without  them  it  is  impossible  to  comprehend  the  situation 
with  any  degree  of  intelligence. 
THE  GALVESTON  DAILY  NEWS  (Galveston,  Texas) : 

The  volume  is  an  especially  valuable  one  for  its  historical  con- 
tents not  only  as  they  directly  concern  Europe,  but  as  they  affected 
all  Europe. 
DESERET  EVENING  NEWS  (Salt  Lake  City,  Utah): 

The  work  is  of  unusual  interest  showing  clearly  the  justification 
the  Italian  people  feel  in  their  part  of  the  war;  and  the  enthusiasm 
and  impassioned  defense  by  one  of  her  noted  scholars  writes  un- 
mistakably, if  unconsciously,  a  limitless  confidence  in  her  cause. 
HERALD -REPUBLIC AN  (Salt  Lake  City,  Utah) : 

With  an  unerring  accuracy  of  logic  the  author  proves  his  point. 
63 


But  this  is  no  mere  cold  array  of  figures  and  statement  of  facts. 
It  is  written  by  an  artist. 

THE  NEWS  LEADER    (Richmond,  Virginia) : 

The  author  whose  fervid  patriotism  inspires  a  vigorous  style 
leads  us  into  most  interesting  and  long  roads  of  history.  *  *  * 
Nor  is  the  least  valuable  feature  of  his  work  the  information  it 
gives  regarding  political  evolution  in  Italy  and  its  causes. 

RICHMOND   TIMES-DISPATCH    (Richmond,  Virginia): 

The  author  is  a  distinguished  Italian-American  journalist  and 
a  leader  of  Italian  thought  in  this  country,  and  he  brings  forth  a 
formidable  array  of  proof  that  is  historically  incontestable  to  justi- 
fy the  course  pursued  by  Italy.  The  book  should  be  widely  read 
as  it  throws  much  light  on  questions  and  motives  hitherto  not 
generally  understood  in  America,  even  by  native  sons  of  Italy,  now 
citizens  of  the  United  States. 

THE   SPOKESMAN-REVIEW    (Spokane,  Washington): 

This  book  is  in  the  nature  of  a  "Red  Book"  explaining  the  rea- 
sons of  Italy's  change  of  front. 

MILWAUKEE  FREE  PRESS    (Milwaukee,  Wisconsin): 
It  is  a  painstaking  and  illuminating  volume. 

THE  LIVING  CHURCH  (Milwaukee,  Wisconsin) : 

It  is  unfortunate  both  for  Italy  and  the  United  States  that  we 
have  habituated  ourselves  very  calmly  to  think  of  the  Italian  as 
a  rough  day-laborer.  We  will  reap  harvest  in  art,  music,  and  the 
humanities  through  the  Italian  blood  poured  into  the  melting  pot. 
Who  ever  reads  this  book,  that  founds  all  its  claims  on  documents, 
will  finish  with  deep  sympathy  for  Italy  and  the  Italians  in  this 
war. 

AMERIKA   (Madison,  Wisconsin)  : 

A  great  work.  A  most  convincing  statement  of  facts  and  argu* 
ments.  Mr.  Carnovale  knows  his  subject  from  a  to  z,  and  his  style 
is  fluent,  forceful,  filled  to  the  brim  with  that  vivacity  of  which  the 
French  and  Italians  are  the  masters.  Both  his  fancy  and  his 
vocabulary  seem  inexhaustible.  Nor  does  he  lack  equilibrium.  He 
presents  with  the  greatest  perspicuity  the  sufferings  and  aspirations 
of  the  Italian  people.  *  *  *  The  author  arouses  our  sympathy 
for  Italy  and  at  the  same  time  stirs  our  own  patriotism  to  its  pro- 
foundest  depths.  For  this  lesson  in  devotion  to  our  country  we  owe 
Luigi  Carnovale  a  debt  of  gratitude. 

JOHN  BASIL  BARNHILL,  editor  Humanity  First,  (Xenia,  Illinois) : 
To  me,  your  wonderful  book,  Why  Italy  entered  into  the  Great 
War,  has  become,  in  a  sense,  a  veritable  Bible  of  the  loftiest  elo- 
quence and  deepest  political  and  social  insight. 

64 


PUBLICATIONS  BY    LUIGI    CARNOVALE 

A  Visit  to  the  Artist  Andrea  Cefaly— 

With  Prefatory  Letter  of  Cefaly  Himself  (Italy). 

My  Mother  (Italy)- 

The  Dream  of  Francesco  (Chicago,  U.  S.  A.) — 

Journalism  of  Italian  Emigrants  in  America — 

211  Pages,  with  cover  designed  by  the  artist  E.  Dl  Pinto 
(Chicago,  U.  S.  A.). 

Why  Italy  Entered  Into  the  Great  War-Perche 
1'Italia  e  entrata  nella  Grande  Guerra — 

673  Pages  in  English  and  Italian,  with  Tavola  Clesiana 
and  Map.  Large  8vo.  (Chicago,  U.  S.  A.,  July,  1917). 

Only  by  the  Abolition  of  Neutrality  Can  Wars  be 
Quickly  and  Forever  Prevented— Soltanto  1'Eli- 
minazione  della  Neutralita  potra  subito  e  per 
sempre  impedire  le  Guerre — 

An  Original  Conception  for  the  Practical  Advent  of  Uni- 
versal Perennial  Peace  and  Brotherhood  (Chicago,  U.S.A., 
1917,  1920,  1921,  1922). 

IN  PREPARATION 

The  Formation  of  the  Italian  Character— 
Tommaso  Campanella — 
The  Omnipotents— 


PUBLICATIONS  RELATIVE  TO  LUIGI  CARNOVALE 
Luitfi  Carnovale—  Patriotism  and  Humanity— 

By  Vincenzo  Carnovale  (Roma,  Italy,  December,  1918). 


Carnovale  —  Apostle    of     Humanity  —  The 
Modern  Idealist  — 

By  Ethel  Torrey    Hibbard  (Chicago,  U.  S.A.,  March,  1922). 


